To be a brother
by RolledupinOne
Summary: From prompt: What if Draco had an older sibling that was favored by his parents, and said sibling died because of something the Malfoys consider to be Draco's fault? Now he has to compensate for everything and is trying to please his parents so they may someday love him. But they can't. And they won't. It's not as simple as the dead sibling anymore though…. Now it's everything else
1. Chapter 1

_**This is in response to a prompt I saw on tumblr and I just couldn't help myself: **So it basically implies that Draco Malfoy has no siblings right? Only child supremacy? Well, what if he had an older sibling, or even a younger sibling that was favored by his parents, and said sibling died because of something the Malfoys consider to be Draco's fault? Now he has to compensate for everything and is trying to please his parents so they may someday love him. But they can't. And they won't. It's not as simple as the dead sibling anymore though…. Now it's everything else that makes his parents despise Draco._

_The beginning of the story is just about the brother's growing up though.  
><em>_So, here goes._

* * *

><p>It was a warm night as summer was approaching when Herculen's baby brother was born. Draco, they said his name would be. It meant dragon, apparently, and Herculen's father expected his second son to fit the title. He appeared mildly excited to have a second heir.<p>

However, Herculen had overheard his parents arguing, and he knew different. There was, apparently, only supposed to be one Malfoy heir, lest the estate be split up or the money be divided. Lucius did not want this second son, this Draco, but Herculen did.

It was many the time when Herculen felt hopelessly lonely. He had only the house elves to play with, for his father was almost always 'away on business' and his mother wasn't one for playing. However, if he was ever caught playing with the house elves, he would get in a whole lot of trouble, so he was never, ever caught. He had learned the first time that being caught would lead to trouble, so he simply made sure he never was.

To be honest, he had a feeling that his parents knew he played with the house elves, but the fact that they were never able to catch him in the act made them only prouder of their sneaky son. A perfect Slytherin, his father proclaimed. He didn't know about all of that yet, it was years before he would be at Hogwarts (Where his mother insisted he attend). He would be attending there in approximately seven years, and even now he was excited. He was only just beginning his education, taught by a man named Severus Snape, and it was fascinating. The potions and spells were wonderful to watch, and one time when Herculen had been spying on their conversation, he had heard Professor Snape tell his parents that he'd never seen a four year old pick it up that fast.

Of course Draco would be no different, Herculen told himself. Why would he be different? It was the Malfoy way to be perfect. He didn't see any reason for his parents to be worried about a second son, they would be the best of friends he was sure. This waiting, however, was killing him worse that an Avada Kedavra!

A healer was inside his mother's room and had been for what seemed like _forever_. House elves were running to and fro, in and out of the room as he played with his tin soldiers across the way, watching the proceedings nervously. He hoped his baby brother would make an appearance soon.

His father had been locked away in the study for hours now, but suddenly he appeared at the door to the hallway. He glanced at Herculen and smiled broadly.

"Have you been waiting out there this whole time?" He asked, and Herculen nodded. "Well, why don't you come in the study and I'll read you The Tales of Beedle the Bard?"

"Okay father," Herculen agreed cheerfully, running into the room and placing himself delicately upon one of the chairs, just like his father.

And so his father spun him a tale of wonderment as a clock upon the wall ticked the time away. Finally, however, a house elf appeared at the door an announced that they may come see Draco.

Herculen patiently followed his father into the room, and was immediately delighted by the tiny baby wrapped in green blankets and his mother's arms.

"My little brother," Herculen breathed, hoisting himself onto the bed and sitting at the edge near his mother to get a better look.

"Why's he so small? He's a runt," Lucius spat, but his older son shook his head.

"No, father, I think he's wonderful. He's absolutely perfect."

"Well…" Lucius hesitated. "If you think he's perfect, then maybe there's more to him than it seems at first glance. He'd better grow a lot, though, he's too skinny. He's a runt of a Malfoy. But, Herculen, perhaps there's more to him than that. You may be the judge of that."

"He's perfect," Herculen insisted, smoothing the green sheets. "He's just perfect. A baby brother for my birthday, thank you mother and father."

And his parents smiled at their two tiny sons.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Draco wasn't much fun to play with because he spent most of his time asleep either in his cradle or in his mother's arms. He got little love from his father, although he seemed to be growing on him. Each time Herculen came to oodle over Draco, Lucius approached the baby and gave it a pat on its head, saying that perhaps there was more to him than it seemed. Time passed, and soon Professor Snape also met the baby.<p>

"Isn't he perfect?" Herculen had questioned his tall, dark tutor, and Professor Snape had given a small head tilt in consideration of this statement.

"He is very small," Professor Snape murmured. "But I do believe he will grow up to be an adequate brother."

Snape then gave Herculen a warm smile to tell him that he was just joking in his usual serious manor, and Herculen gave a small giggle.

"Just adequate, Uncle Snape?" He asked in a very serious voice, and his tutor smiled slightly again.

"Perhaps he will be, er what was it you said? Perfect."

"Yes, he will," Herculen nodded, then he turned back to his perfect little brother, Snape watching them both with the smallest of happy, warm smiles.

Professor Snape came twice a week to see how the studies were going, often leaving with Lucius to go to their 'business meetings', as his father called them. Narcissa always fussed over them before they went, although Herculen didn't understand what the big deal was. Of course, he supposed that if they were business meetings, they didn't want to lose their jobs. Once his mother had told him that there was a possibility that he would work when he grew up, and he had to always be good so he wouldn't lose his job. He didn't think that'd be a problem; he never lost anything.

The year passed, and finally it was Christmas. As usual, the house was adorned by a Christmas tree that reached from the floor to the ceiling of the gigantic entry hall, and it was filled with sparkling white lights and huge silver ornaments. On Christmas morning, a scattering of presents appeared under the tree, and Snape showed up to deliver a present to both boys. As it turned out, Herculen didn't really need any more presents, for his parents had showered him in dozens. Draco, on the other hand, got far fewer; most of them were clothes. Of course, what was someone going to give a baby anyway? Herculen received some clothes, but mostly there were a whole lot of magical presents.

Snape's presents turned out to be the best off all, however. Herculen received a little plush animal that Snape called a 'teddy bear', and Draco received a similar toy, only his was a dragon. Herculen's parents didn't seem to quite approve of the suspiciously 'muggle' presents, but the baby giggled as the stuffed animal was placed into his crib, and Herculen loved his, and so they made an exception.

"Thank you Uncle Snape!" Herculen told Snape firmly as he was leaving, and the dark haired man spared him a warm smile before he disappeared out the door.

More time went by, and baby Draco could actually 'do things', as Herculen put it. Herculen would make the stuffed animals talk to each other, making the tiny baby smile. Lucius still said he was too tiny to be a Malfoy, but it seemed that he'd finally warmed up to his second son, and occasionally he even gave him a small hug. Herculen was quite proud that he'd made his father like his baby brother; finally they were a real family! Draco even said his first word sometime after his first birthday. His first word, much to his brother's joy, was Herculen. Soon he could also say 'my big bwother' and 'let's pwlay, Herculen!' Even his parents were impressed that their tiny son could talk at only a year and two months. Snape was also proud when Draco quickly learned to say, 'Una Snape'. Much of the rest of the babble that Draco mumbled didn't make much sense, but Herculen didn't seem to mind.

It wasn't until the festivities for Hallows Eve that something strange happened. Snape didn't come to tutor Herculen for a whole week which was odd because he'd never missed even once before. When he asked his father about the oddity, Lucius dismissed it easily and tutored his son himself. It grew odder and odder when Lucius had to go away on a long business trip not very long after that, and Professor Snape never made an appearance. Even when Lucius did finally return, Professor Snape didn't show up. Lucius himself seemed different after his long business trip, so Herculen had asked what was wrong.

"It's not your concern," Lucius sighed, running a tired hand through his long hair.

"Draco and I know something is wrong, father," Herculen had insisted, holding the hand of his brother who was still trying to learn the art of walking.

"Nothing is wrong."

"Okay, then can you read me the Beedle Bard book, father, please? You haven't read that to me in a long time."

"Well," Lucius hesitated, then he gave a tired nod. "All right, I'll read it. Come on, let's sit on the couch."

"Draco wants to sit on your lap, just like I used to," Herculen said decidedly, but his father shook his head.

"He may sit on your lap if you so desire. I- I'd rather just read the book."

And so once again Herculen smiled as his father read him his favorite stories, and by the end even Lucius cracked a smile at his favorite sons' happiness.

It wasn't until Christmas that Herculen and Draco saw the Professor again, but he was completely different than the occasionally smiling man they'd previously known. Dark circles underlined his eyes, and he didn't smile. However, he did dutifully give them wonderful presents that were again suspiciously muggle, but the happiness that they brought Herculen excused their muggleness in Lucius's mind. However, when he told his Uncle Snape thank you for him and his little brother, he received little more than an exhausted nod. Snape didn't come again until June. At that point, Herculen had Draco talking almost fluently (almost), and finally Lucius smiled when Draco toddled into a room without clinging to his brother's hand.

"He's still too small," Herculen heard his father occasionally mumble, but there was a smile in his voice as he said it, and Herculen knew that his father finally loved his second son.

* * *

><p>"Come on, Draco! I'm about to leave, where are you?"<p>

"I'm right here, you don't have to yell."

Herculen grinned at his younger brother and put the magical finishing touches on his suitcase so that it wouldn't fly open sometime during his journey to Hogwarts.

Hogwarts! Finally! He'd waited 11 years for this; finally he would be sorted into his house and get a chance to show off his skills in front of someone other than his family, Professor Snape, and the occasion son of one of his parent's friends that would visit the manor. Finally, free to use magic all the time, wherever, whenever.

"You know you aren't supposed to do that," Draco referred to the magic binding the suitcase closed, but Herculen only rolled his eyes.

"Pishposh," Herculen replied, and he agilely floated the handle of his suitcase into this hand.

"So, are you excited?" Draco asked, and his brother laughed out loud.

"Of course, who wouldn't be? I'm thrilled to finally be at Hogwarts. This is what I've been preparing for, little brother. Quidditch, Dark Arts, Potions, I'm ready for it all. You better keep studying, after all you'll be there before you know it too, and I can't have my little brother bringing down my good reputation!" Herculen took on the voice in which Draco could never determine if his brother was serious or kidding, but either way Draco shook his head.

"I'm studying hard! The new tutor may not be as good as Uncle Severus, but he's still good!"

"Professor Snape, dear brother, or Uncle Snape if you must," Draco was corrected, but he did his best impression of his brother's eye roll, receiving a nod of approval.

A knock on the door interrupted the brothers, and Herculen told whoever it was to come in. Moments later the door was open to reveal Narcissa, who smiled gently.

"It's time to go. Your robes look lovely, Herculen."

"Why thank you," Herculen smirked.

Moments later, their father also stood at the door, surveying the room quickly before frowning at Draco.

"What are you doing bothering your brother when he's supposed to be getting ready? Come out of there."

"Oh he couldn't bother me if he wanted to," Herculen grinned as his brother scampered out of the room.

"Well, come on then. You don't want to miss the train," Lucius smiled adoringly at his elder son, who snatched his owl's cage, and then reached the door in three big strides. "Come, let's apparate."

Moments later, the family was in the station crowded with both smiling and crying families.

"So this is it," Herculen murmured. "The train to my future. It'll be perfect."

Turning, Herculen gave his mother a hug, then shook hands with his father.

"Make me proud," Lucius spoke sternly.

"You know I will," Herculen replied, and his father couldn't hide his adulation.

"G'bye," Draco told his brother, who gave him a nod before marching toward the train, his suitcase in one hand and the cage for his great grey owl in his other hand.

"One day it'll be you," Narcissa told her son, who beamed at the acknowledgement. Glancing at his father, Draco hoped for his acknowledgement as well, but his father was far too concerned with watching his precious elder son disappear into his compartment.

"Goodbye Herculen," Draco whispered to himself. "Have a good time at Hogwarts."

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><p><em>Please review and tell me what you think so far! Remember, reviews mean a faster update! :)<br>_


	2. Chapter 2

Draco spent the majority of the following autumn at home being tutored by Professor Gaunt, a little old man who stuttered occasionally and was nowhere near as interesting as Snape. However, Draco had to admit that this new tutor knew his stuff and kept Draco on his toes when it came to remembering hard potions. About once a month, Uncle Snape made an appearance and told Draco how his elder brother was fairing: perfectly. Uncle Snape didn't talk all that much about Herculen, however, because the Malfoy's frequently got owls cataloguing their son's omnipresent success at Hogwarts. Instead, Draco received something he realized he was missing since his brother left: companionship.

Draco grew to look forward to Uncle Snape's occasional visit because, although Snape didn't play with Draco, he enthralled the 7 year old with stories and shows put on by spells that he had created in his free time. Sometimes they were shows of lights that shot into the air in various patterns, and other times Uncle Snape would mutter something under his breath and Draco's well loved stuffed dragon would jerk to life and talk and walk like any magical toy.

Once of twice Draco had asked his godfather to read him a story from a storybook, but Snape refused, and so the Tales of the Beedle Bard was left dusty and untouched, for Draco knew better than to ask his own father to read to him. Lucius was much to busy to spend time with his younger son, Draco knew that well, so he didn't even try to talk to his father except at meal times. Even then most of the conversation was dominated by his parent's discussion over Herculen's most recent letter. Although Narcissa frequently asked Draco how he was fairing, he often had little of interest to say, so his father always turned the conversation back to Herculen's successes.

"He's a perfect Slytherin," Lucius repeated at least every other day. "Don't you think Herculen is a perfect Slytherin, Narcissa?"

And every other day his wife would reply, "Yes Lucius, he does seem to be a perfect Slytherin."

At Christmas time, Lucius went to personally meet his son at the train station, while Draco and Narcissa waited patiently at home.

"Do you think Uncle Snape'll come this year?" Draco asked his mother as they sat in the sitting room watching the snowflakes fall lazily to rest on the icy ground.

"He always has before. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes an appearance once again," Narcissa replied.

"I hope he does. He always brings the best presents!" Draco told his mother, who nodded absentmindedly. To be completely honest, it wasn't only the presents, that Draco was looking forward to. Maybe Uncle Snape would also make his dragon talk again, or put on a show of lights, or maybe just talk to him about something and not interrupt. Snape never interrupted, which Draco looked forward to each time his godfather visited. If course his mother rarely interrupted, but Snape was special company.

"Oh, here they are Draco. Straighten your collar. There now, smooth your hair. Very good. Oh welcome home Herculen!"

The moment the door flung open, Narcissa had her arms around her elder son, planting a kiss upon the top of his head and asking how the year had been.

"Well, as I told father, Hogwarts is quite pleasant. Of course the classes are ridiculously easy because they're filled with mudbloods, although that's not what we call them there. There they're called muggle-borns. Anyway, since the classes are so easy I have lots of time for quidditch, and I love being the seeker. It's such a thrill to zoom through the skies atop my Nimbus and catch the little golden snitch."

"He's at the top of his class," Lucius spoke up.

"Of course," Herculen nodded. "It would be hard not to be. And how's my favorite little brother?"

Stepping forward, Herculen enveloped Malfoy in a hug declaring that Draco had grown since the last time they'd seem each other.

Herculen had too. He hardly looked like the same brother to Draco what with his developing muscles and newly styled gelled hair. Draco stared at that hair in fascination. It almost looked brittle like it would break if someone tried to comb it; it was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

"So, have your studies gone well little brother?" Herculen asked his brother, who nodded and was about to talk when Lucius declared:

"Well now that you're home we can have dinner and talk even more about your school year. Then perhaps we shall all go to sleep so the elves can start preparing for the Christmas ball later this week."

"Christmas ball?" Draco asked confused, and Lucius sighed with frustration.

"Have you not been listening these past few nights as I've been talking? We are holding a Christmas ball to celebrate Herculen's accomplishments. Almost all the pure bloods are invited, except for a select few of course."

"I hope you didn't invite the Weasleys," Herculen spoke up with a deep sigh. "There's one boy, Percy, and he's alright, but his older brother is on the Gyfindor team, and he's just terrible. His name is Charlie and he's terrible at magic as far as I can tell, everyone says all he cares about is animals. Red hair and a hand-me-down robe from his elder brother, he's such a Weasley. You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Draco. You don't want to go around making friends with the wrong sort."

Draco stared wide-eyed at his brother, shaking his head his head quickly.

"Of course I wouldn't invite the Weasleys," Lucius purred to his son. "They may as well not even be pure bloods. I'm glad you've realized about blood-purity. I afraid Draco has yet to learn. The other day he almost wandered into the muggle store in Diagone Alley!"

"Don't worry, I can help you there," Herculen reassured Draco, who nodded, still flushing with embarrassment from his father's proclamation. He had received quite the lecture after that event.

The rest of the dinner was spent with Herculen telling story after story about his experiences at school, until finally Draco wandered away upstairs, almost bored of the never ending tales. When he didn't hear again from his family, Draco tucked himself in and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The following week found Draco and Herculen constantly accompanied by Lucius. Although Herculen would always allow his brother to tag along it seemed to Draco that he was being rather left out of the conversations. However, every time as he planned to leave his father and brother to talk alone, Herculen would make a point to include his brother, so Draco stayed by his family's side. Eventually it was time for the ball.<p>

That morning was a flurry of excitement as house elves scurried about and got the house ready for the Christmas party. Lucius had instructed Draco to stay in his room as to not get in the way, and a little house elf named Dobby was helping Draco to straighten his stiff, Victorian holiday outfit.

"Master Malfoy looks all ready for the party, yes in deed," Dobby told Draco, who examined himself in the mirror. He didn't know what his brother would be wearing, but he was determined that he would look just as good as his brother would. He trusted Dobby's judgment, for Dobby was the only house elf who would talk to Draco on the long days when his father was shut in his study, his mother was shut in her powder room, and his tutor wasn't visiting.

"Do you think I'll look as good as Herculen?" Draco asked as he turned around in an attempt to glimpse the golden chain that hung halfway down his back, and Dobby nodded.

"Dobby thinks Master Malfoy will look just as good as Master Malfoy's brother."

Smiling in satisfaction, Draco sat upon a chair at the edge of the room to wait until he was called to come. It seemed a long time to him, but finally a house elf appeared at his door and told him to follow her down to the great hall where he would mingle with the guests.

Arriving downstairs, Draco was shocked by the sheer number of people quietly milling about his home. The tinkle of glass was almost as loud as the polite conversation, and Draco hurried through lines of people trying to find either his brother or Uncle Snape. In his hurry, Draco ran smack into a large plump boy who turned to glare at him.

"Hey, watch it," the plump boy growled. "Wait, are you one of them?"

"One of who?"

"The Malfoys of course."

"Yes, I'm a Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

"Well, good to meet you. I'm Vincent Crabbe. So, some party your parents threw, you must be awful proud being a Malfoy and having all this."

"Er, yes it is rather great isn't it," Draco scanned the crowd for his brother. Finally he spotted him over in a corner opening a present from someone. "I'll see you around."

"Count on it, Malfoy," Vincent nodded, and then Draco hurried away.

Hurrying over to his brother, Draco asked what he thought of the big party.

"Well, I am ever so thankful for father acknowledging the fact that I am the best at Hogwarts. And ever so many presents have arrived for me. Have you gotten many, Draco?"

"Er, no," Draco murmured, glancing at the new green and silver scarf held in his brother's hands.

"Well, I'm sure yours are still arriving. Oh, hello Mr. Zabini! Anyway, did you need something Draco?"

"Well, I was just wondering, I guess. Have you seen Uncle Snape?"

"Oh I don't think Professor Snape is quite the party type. He may not be coming this year. Yes, hello Mrs. Greengrass, your dress is lovely! Anyway, Draco, I guess if you don't need anything you can go talk to the guests?"

"Well, okay. After the party, maybe do you want to play or something? We haven't played very much since you got home."

"We'll see how late the party goes," Herculen replied. "Mr. Goyle, it's wonderful to meet you again."

Silently, Draco wandered away from his brother, looking for something to occupy his time. There seemed to be little to do, no one really seemed to notice him, and that Vincent person had disappeared. Finally, after nibbling on a sandwich and failing to find anyone to talk to, Draco wandered back upstairs dismally. Passing his brother's room, Draco noticed a pile of presents magically appearing. Feeling a little hope that there would be a pile of presents in his room too, Draco hurried inside. There was but one from his mother: A silver hairbrush.

Swallowing, Draco sat on his bed and ran his fingers over the wrapping paper of his present. Uncle Snape had never come, maybe he just wasn't the party type.

Suddenly a pop caught his attention and Draco glanced to his side to see a silver package sitting next to him. Curious, Draco pulled away the wrapping paper to reveal a small stack of books. On top was one that read: The Dragon's Den: Chose your own adventure. Under the tittle was a letter that read:

_Draco,_

_I'm sorry I was not there this year. Your father was hosting a pure blood party which I was unable to attend. Although I couldn't come celebrate with you, I hope through these books you are able to travel anywhere._

_I hope you enjoy your Christmas, I'll come visit soon,_

_Severus Snape._

Swallowing again, Draco frowned. Why couldn't Uncle Snape have just come anyway, just for a little while? Sighing, Draco placed the books next to his bed and wrapped himself in a blanket before wishing himself a Merry Christmas and slowly falling asleep.

* * *

><p>"Avada Kedavra, I got you!"<p>

"Nu uh, I jumped out of the way! Avada Kedevra!"

"But I already got you Draco. You can't kill me when you're already dead."

Draco sighed and came out from behind his bed, dusting off his hands.

"Okay, fine. What do you want to play now?"

"It's up to you, Draco. You're the one who wanted to play in the first place. At Hogwarts, we don't play anything except quidditch."

"So what do you do when you're not playing quidditch?"

"Oh we talk and we explore, I guess."

"Sounds boring, but I guess that's just what happens when you get older; you get boring. Like father. He never does anything except sit in his study anymore."

"Well he reads to you, doesn't he?"

"No, he just sits in his study all the time."

"Oh, well I won't just sit. I'll read to you if you like. After all, I'll be going back tomorrow, we may as well get some enjoyment out of today what with father being out with his old friends from school and all. You know, they have sons about your age; granted they're not the brightest boys, but perhaps you'll be friends when you get to Hogwarts?"

"Maybe. I met Vincent at the Christmas party. Father said he's Mr. Crabbe's son."

"Indeed he is. He's the brighter one, little brother. Besides that, he's got muscle. Don't tell father, but sometimes I find myself wishing I had a bit of muscle."

"But you're really strong!"

"Pishposh. The Crabbe boy is made of muscle. He'll be an excellent Beater one day."

"Beater?"

"Yes, for quidditch of course. Oh, you are lacking in knowledge, little brother. Perhaps I should just spend the rest of the day teaching you about quidditch?"

"If you want to," Draco looked up to his brother admiringly, but Herculen shook his head.

"No, when you're older maybe; you're still just a kid."

"Am not!"

Herculen smirked at his little brother and then stood from his emerald bed, striding across the room to his dresser. There he picked up his furry brown hat, placed it firmly atop his head, and checked his reflection in the mirror to make sure every one of his golden hairs was in place.

"You look stunning Master Malfoy," the enchanted mirror proclaimed, and Herculen nodded as if that statement had been the most obvious of the century.

"Come on, let's go outside," Herculen turned back to his younger brother. "I feel like skating."

"Skating?" Draco asked, hurrying after his brother.

"Yes. My good friend Timothy told me about it. Apparently it's a mudblood custom from way back that he learned in muggle studies class which he thinks he should take to be a diplomat. Honestly, I wouldn't take muggle studies if my life depended on it, but Timothy is a 6th year and says he wants to know the most basic principals. Anyway, I don't care if dirty little mud bloods do skate, I'm going to try it, and you should too. Just once though, mind you."

"Don't you think father'll get mad?"

"Pishposh, he's out for the day, and mother won't tell. Besides, haven't you noticed that yesterday he finally obliged to listen to your story about the garden sprite or whatever it is you thought you saw? Clearly my enthusiasm for your existence is rubbing off on him. Now come, little brother."

Hesitantly, Draco followed his brother outside where Herculen cast a charm on the cobble stones of the manor. Immediately, a layer of ice appeared, and then Herculen pointed his wand at Draco's feet. Whispering something under his breath, a shot of light appeared, and Draco immediately toppled onto the ground for upon his feet were a pair of odd shoes with a thin metal piece running down the middle.

"Ouch. What are these?" Draco asked, pointing to the shoes.

"Ice skates," Herculen replied. Ice skates appeared on his feet as well, though he didn't fall. Instead he glided onto the ice, turning gracefully to help his brother up. "Come on, Timothy says you skate like this."

Hesitantly, Draco followed his brother's moves, and soon he wasn't half bad at gliding about the ice. Smiling and giving a small laugh, Draco raced after Herculen, spinning in tight, tiny circles.

"Excellent!" Herculen declared. "You're quite good at skating. Too bad it's reserved for mudbloods."

"Indeed it is. So why, pray tell, are both of my sons performing in such an unseemly manner?"

Draco and Herculen spun to see their father standing at the edge of the ice, watching them with cold, grey eyes.

"Father," Herculen skated quickly to the edge of the ice, transfiguring his skates into boots in seconds. "You're home early."

"Indeed. Draco, come off of there."

Clumsily, Draco followed his brother's example, though he didn't know how to transfigure his own skates. Instead, his grabbed his brother's arm to keep from falling down. His father raised a single eyebrow at him and transfigured the skates himself.

"So, I require an explanation."

"Well, sir, it was just because-"

"Don't try to get your brother out of this, Herculen. I am quite aware that you have never shown any inclination toward mudblood tendencies. Draco, on the other hand, has much to learn."

"But, father, I-"

"You may go inside, Herculen. I need to have a talk with your brother."

Herculen glanced at Draco, swallowed, and then wetted his lips nervously. Moments later, he turned and marched inside, Draco's eyes following his brother's disappearing form forlornly.

"Now, Draco," Draco's eyes snapped back to his father. Lucius returned his gaze with a deep frown which lined his frustrated face. "As your father, it is my place to make sure you are being raised correctly. I fear that you don't understand the severity of associating yourself with customs not created by your own people: pure bloods."

Draco considered telling his father that this whole thing was Herculen's idea, but he wiped the thought from his mind for fear of getting his brother in trouble. Besides, despite the fact that his father seemed to have paid a bit more attention to him due to Herculen's many recent attempts for Draco's involvement with his parents, Lucius would never believe ill of his elder son.

"Now, let us get this straight between us. You will never again do something that will give me the slightest impression that you don't despise mudbloods and all of their customs. Do you understand me?"

"Yes father," Draco murmured, feeling increasing upset under his father's sharp gaze.

"I said, do you understand me?" Lucius repeated louder, shouted in fact, his eyes flashing. Blinking, Draco nodded and found that something seemed lodged in his throat.

"Yes father," he said louder, swallowing in vain and instead finding a tear residing at the edge of his eye.

"And Malfoy's never cry!"

"No sir," Draco shook his head, but the stubborn tears only seemed more determined to fall.

"Good, now run along, and don't let me catch you at it again."

Desperately, Draco turned and fled from the spot. Legs flying, he soon found himself in his bedroom where he threw himself upon the comforter and did that which Malfoy's never do.

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><p><em>Please review and tell me what you think! Also, only got 2 reviews last chapter, but thanks for those! :)<em>


	3. Chapter 3

**AU: **_Thanks so much for all of your reviews last chapter; it's really nice to hear from you guys. :)_

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><p>The months following winter break found a slight change in Draco's life. Snape came to visit the weekend after winter break ended. It was meant to be a short visit, for Snape wasn't supposed to be away from the school, but he came nevertheless. When he arrived, he wasn't surprised to find Draco sitting in his room. He was, however, surprised to see his godson's slightly red rimmed eyes. At first he didn't comment on it, but when Draco continued to be quieter than usual, Snape slowly asked if something was troubling him.<p>

"No, Professor Snape," Draco said. "Nothing is wrong."

Professor Snape? That tittle took Snape aback, for he'd never been called anything but 'Uncle' by his godson. Granted, Professor seemed a much more suited name, and Snape wasn't exactly the familial type, but he wasn't prepared for the seven year old to suddenly start calling him 'Professor'.

"Draco," Snape sat down on the floor (yes on the floor and cross legged too) across from his godson who averted his gaze. "Tell me what is wrong."

"Nothing Prof- Professor S-Snape," Draco whimpered, but this only caused the dark haired man to furrow his brow.

"Have you been crying?" he asked his godson slowly, but he received a quick shake of the head. "Draco, do not lie to me. Tell me what is bothering you."

"Nothing is-"

"Do not lie to me," Snape practically roared, and Draco's eyes widened as he pushed himself against the edge of his bed where he sat.

"It's just... It's just I'm not as good a son as Herulen. I can never be as good a son as Herculen. Even Herculen says he's the best, and he's right! Father got so mad the day before Herculen left, and then when I went to apologize for skating and seeming to be interested in muggle things the next day, he wouldn't listen. He told me that I can only redeem myself through faithful proceedings into my future existence and livelihood," Draco stammered. "I told him I didn't understand and then he told me I should ask my tutor and then he sent me to my room and then a house elf delivered me dinner and I didn't even go down to the table! Finally father came back and said I could have dinner at the table the next night, but he didn't even look at me because we got another letter, and, and Herculen is doing so good!"

"I'm sure your father means well and has your best interests at heart. Now I mustn't meddle in family matters, so I had better leave," Snape stood, his face dark. Frowning, he observed as Draco blinked up at him with large grey eyes, clearly disheartened that his godfather was already saying goodbye. Observing Draco's crest fallen look, Snape continued slowly. "However, I could teach you potions, if you so desire."

"Can you?" Draco's voice almost came out as a plea, and Snape frowned. "Herculen says you're the best potions teacher there ever was."

"Well, now if that is Herculen's opinion," Snape trailed off. "Alright. Come, I know where there is a cauldron from which I can teach you."

Following his godfather, Draco was lead into a room near the library which was normally designated for his tutoring. For the rest of the afternoon, Snape instructed Draco in how to correctly brew a calming draught, until Snape proclaimed that he must leave and return to Hogwarts.

Before he left, Draco asked, "Do you think I should try to point out my good qualities to father so I'm more like Herculen?"

"If you think that best," Snape replied, and then he was gone.

Following Snape's visit, Draco gathered what little courage he had, and one night at dinner he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"So, Professor Snape taught me how to brew a calming draught the other day," Draco glanced at his father as he did his best impression of Herculen's vaguely smug look.

"Did he now?" Lucius almost looked amused as he tucked his napkin into his lap.

"Yes, and since I'm going to be at Hogwarts pretty soon, I figured I should know lots and lots so I can be at the head of my class, just like Herculen."

"It'll be a few more years until you're at Hogwarts, sweetheart," Narcissa's voice graced the dinner table.

"But when I am, I'll be ready because I've been studying potions really hard! Plus-"

"Yes, well we'll see, Draco," Lucius interrupted. "Now I got an owl from Herculen this afternoon and-"

"Wait, I also just wanted to say that Professor Snape said he'll teach me to brew a potion that second years learn so I'll be really ahead!" Draco glanced at his father hopefully, but he quivered when he realized that his father's face was turning red.

"Don't interrupt your father at the dinner table," Narcissa scolded Draco, glancing at her husband anxiously.

"I'm sorry father," Draco spoke, eyes flying between his parents, and finally landing on his father's incensed face.

"Draco," Lucius's voice was quite smooth, but for some reason Draco felt unnerved by it. "One day you may find yourself at Hogwarts, and on that day we will judge how well you can compete with your fellow students. I'm absolutely certain you will be at the top of your class; there is no question about that, you are a Malfoy. However, now you are not at Hogwarts, and Herculen is. Therefore you will not interrupt me, and you will not be disrespectful to your own father at the dinner table. Herculen is an ideal, perfect

Slytherin, as I'm sure you will somehow figure out how to be when the time comes. However, you have yet to prove yourself to me. Now eat your food in silence or go to your room, your choice. I will not have a son of mine disgracing the name of Malfoy, for if you do so in my presence, who knows whose presence you'll do it in next. Now, Narcissa, in Herculen's last letter it says that he passed his last defense against the dark arts test with a grade over one hundred percent!"

Draco played with his food on his plate as his father continued to spout off about Herculen's latest owl, just like almost every other night.

'One day,' Draco promised himself, 'He'll sit here talking about my successes at Hogwarts. One day my father will hear about all of the great stuff I've done, and then he'll see I can be just as good as Herculen. One day my father will hear something that'll change his mind forever!'

However, Draco didn't really believe that. He knew better than to think he'd ever be as good as his elder brother.

"Herculen is a perfect Slytherin," Lucius concluded his nightly declarations. "Mark my words, he is completely perfect."

And indeed he was. It was determined by the end of the final tests that Herculen's first year had gone swimmingly with him passing far beyond the rest of his class. And of course Slytherin had received the most points during the year ensuring the house victory. Even as a first year, everyone knew he'd one day be prefect, and all the other houses were visibly jealous that the 'little genius' wasn't in their house; especially the Ravenclaws.

All of the teachers loved him too, and so he'd made sure to give them all chocolates at the end of the year- even the teachers he couldn't stand so he had to put on an act for! Herculen had even received a few chocolates from professors sneaked under the table himself as he left the classrooms on the last day. Even the teachers who hated Slytherin loved him, although he inwardly didn't necessarily appreciate their presences'; the only teacher who didn't like him was the pesky McGonagall, and he couldn't stand her at all. In fact he despised her; no matter how angelic he behaved, she saw through his act as if it was an invisibility cloak- despicable woman.

His parents couldn't have been prouder when they received five owls from teachers- including one who favored Hufflepuffs who Herculen thought was completely ridiculous- asking if 'dear Herculen' had arrived home safely. A perfect Slytherin, absolutely perfect.

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><p>"Welcome home dearest boy, what's she think I am, five?"<p>

"What do you mean?"

"Oh don't think I don't love mother, but honestly! I'm technically a second year now! At least father had the decency to present me with this new tie pin! Isn't it splendid Draco? It's just like the emblem of my house."

"Your house?"

"You know, Slytherin? In any case, how has you last year been, Draco dear? I never seem to get owls from you, not like from father."

"I've been alright," Draco murmured, admiring the silver snake pin that his brother had placed into his hands. It really was sort of nice, and it even seemed to slither a bit under one's touch.

"Just alright? Tell me all about your year, goodness knows you've heard all about mine from father, the braggart. You know sometimes I almost wish he would shut up, but only almost."

"There isn't much to tell, really," Draco handed the tie pin back to his brother and watched as Herculen waved his wand and his suitcase flew open, the clothes immediately sorting themselves into neat, folded piles and then floating to their designated drawers.

"Pishposh. What has been occupying your time? How's father been? How's that dapper old tutor you have? When's the birthday party?"

"You only want to know when the birthday party'll be because our birthdays are on the same day so the parties'll be on the same day."

"Pishposh," Herculen declared quickly.

"Well, anyway, father says it'll likely be on Saturday."

"And the answers to the rest of my questions?" Herculen muttered a spell, and then his suitcase carefully tucked itself into the closet.

"Well, I've been learning lots of potions and some spells too. Uncle, I mean Professor Snape has been coming to teach me potions!"

"Well, perhaps that's where he goes some Saturdays. Of course, Professor Snape is always mysterious about his whereabouts. So, Saturday you say? It's hard to believe we have a whole summer together; I've almost forgotten to think of the manor as home. Eight years old, Draco, can you believe it? It seems like only yesterday that you were my scrawny kid brother, not that you aren't still scrawny. Why don't you eat more, get some muscle? Oh don't look so depressing, dear brother, it's called a joke. Oh dear, I do believe that that's mother calling us. Now what in the world could she possible want?"

Draco dutifully followed his brother from the snake green bedroom and down a flight of magically shortened stairs. Indeed, Narcissa was waiting there for her sons, a smile upon her face.

"So, your father and I have been discussing, and we have decided to do something special for your birthdays. You have always said that you wanted to visit France and see the ancient wizard structures built there, Herculen, so your father has arranged for a beautiful trip into the French countryside."

"Oh mother, that's magnificent," Herculen beamed. Turning to his brother, Herculen was surprised when Draco didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm.

"I thought we were having a party on Saturday, here. Uncle Snape was going to come!" Draco spoke up, horror stricken.

"Well, plans change now don't they my little dragon?" Narcissa brushed her younger son's worries aside. "Unless Herculen doesn't want to go, of course. You father might make an exception, although it did take quite a bit of work to set everything perfectly so we could see all the sights, and all the shops."

"No, it'll be great fun, don't you agree Draco?" Herculen urged his younger brother, who hesitated.

"But, but I thought we were going to see Uncle Snape," Draco protested quietly.

"Don't complain, Draco."

Draco spun to see his father standing in the parlour doorway, his arms crossed. Three strides later, he was standing beside his wife.

"I was just talking to the owner of a genuine inn of the 1400s, and we shall have the whole top floor to ourselves. I know Herculen has looked forward to this little vacation; you will not complain about such a grand opportunity, will you Draco?"

"No father," Draco murmured, immediately recognising the glint in his father's eyes that screamed 'don't argue, drop it'.

"Your Uncle Snape will be around to visit after the vacation," Narcissa agreed. "Now, let's all go get ready!"

Draco watched as his brother and mother scurried from the room, however his father placed himself grandly upon a velvet love seat against the wall.

"You seem to prefer spending time with Snape rather than with your own family," Lucius spoke evenly. "Why?"

"Well, he is my family. He's my uncle," Draco replied honestly.

"He is your godfather, not your uncle. He is not your family."

Draco blinked, surprised by the venom in his own father's voice.

"There are three important things in this world, Draco: blood purity, keeping your honour, and keeping your family name. In addition, keep your family close, and don't disappoint them. Don't you disappoint me Draco."

"I won't father," Draco shook his head.

"Good. Now remember, Snape is in fact a friend of mine, and I make an exception for him, however, he is not a pureblood."

"Really?" Draco's eyes widened.

"No, he is not. It is all well and good having him around, after all he is an excellent potions master, a decent Slytherin, and a, er, high ranking position of an organization we used to attend, however I will not have my son thinking of a half blood as family. There is a place we, as Malfoys, must draw the line. I am not saying that you should discontinue to associate with him, he can teach you much, but he _is not your family._ Do you understand me, Draco?"

"Yes father," Draco murmured, turning this new information over inside of his head.

"Good. Now, go pack, and don't you ever forget what I just told you. Without those rules, you are nothing."

"Yes, I mean, no father. I'll go pack."

Lucius watched as his son scurried from the room, and then he called for a house elf to pack for him.

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><p>Draco was stuffing jackets into his suitcase when a soft knock sounded on his door, and Draco turned to see Snape standing in the doorway. Surprised, Draco dropped his jacket, though Snape was quick to levitate it into his suitcase.<p>

"Your brother fire-called me," Snape spoke. "He said you wished to see me prior to your vacation to France. I wanted to wish you a good birthday, and say that I'm sure you will enjoy your vacation. Your father has worked hard to arrange it, I'm sure. Do not complain about it Draco. I'm certain you will have an excellent time. I brought you a present to keep you entertained, should you become disinterested in any particular part of your vacation."

Handing a small, silver present to his godson, Snape spared a tiny smile, but the look he was met with was unusual for Draco.

"What is it? Are you honestly that upset about this vacation?"

"No," Draco hesitated, placing the present on his pillow. "My father was talking to me today, just now, and he said... He said you're not a pure blood."

Snape blinked twice, his face void of emotion.

"Is it true?" Draco stared up at the dark-haired professor, his voice undeniably betrayed. "Is what my father said true?"

"I- It is true. I don't know the context of your exchange, however, I hope you realize that I support what your family stands for. Perhaps I should leave. I don't believe your brother asked you father's permission for my visit."

"Oh, don't leave! Please Uncle, I mean, Professor Snape! Please don't leave!"

"No, I'd better go. Enjoy your present, Draco. I'll see you again, sometime. Be sure to keep up with your potion studies, you hold great promise in that subject," Snape spoke haltingly. "I will see you again, sometime."

Draco was then abandoned with his silver present, a lump growing in his throat. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he had never before felt so alone.

Slowly unwrapping the present, Draco tossed the ribbon onto his bedside table and the wrapping paper into his bed.

Inside of a long, black box sat a tiny silver dragon toy. Standing and stretching, the dragon looked at Draco, and then gave a small yawn. It's left ear was a key, and still sitting inside the box was a thin, green book labeled 'My Potions'. Lifting the book, Draco watched as the little dragon flew over and unlocked it. Flipping it open, Draco found that that it was a book filled with simple potions and pages in the back to add one's own discoveries.

Noticing something inscribed on the inside of the front cover, Draco read the carefully written script.

'For Draco, the Malfoy dragon:

I know how much you enjoy potions, and so I hoped this book might allow your love to grow. I hope you enjoy your time with this book and your newest little dragon. All of the best. I give you my wishes for a happy birthday.

Uncle Snape.'

Unable to swallow, Draco felt the lump in his throat grow in size until he could no longer help himself. A sob escaped him, followed by another and another. He didn't want to cry, he was the Malfoy dragon, and yet the tears wouldn't stop. Soon he, and the well loved plush dragon he'd snatched from his shelf, were salty and wet. Finally, the sobs turned into quiet sniffles, and when his brother came by, knocking on the door and asking how his packing was going, Draco was able to speak in a clear and normal voice saying he was all ready to go.

"Good, it'll be lots of fun. I trust your visit with Professor Snape went well?"

"Yes, Herculen. Thank you for inviting him," Draco's words were slow and he paused between each nervously. His brother almost laughed at his unusual manner of speaking.

"What was that, your impression of him? Anyway, good. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I'll be down stairs with father."

Draco nodded, watching his brother disappear from the room, and then Draco again extracted his plush dragon from under the covers, giving it a final hug.

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><p><strong>AU: <strong>_Again, thank you all so much for commenting on the last chapter, the response was wonderful! It got me to update this now rather than farther in the future :-) Thanks!_

_Anyway, not much Herculen in this chapter, I'll probably have more about him next time. I just wanted to show some of Draco's life here while Herculen was away at Hogwarts, and do a little bit of Draco's relationship with Snape. So, do you think I should show what happens in France, and how the vacation goes?_

_Please, again tell me what you think :)_


	4. Chapter 4

**AU:**_Here's another chapter. I've been quite busy, but I was able to get this written. One or two of you mentioned Draco's nicer personality here whereas in the books he's a 'git'. Very true, but he is younger here, and this is his 'home self', which might be different from his public self. Additionally, you might see a change start to occur pretty soon (hint hint)_

_Thanks to** orsumfenix, risi, SayianWizard**, and **standasawitness **for reviewing._

_Now, on with the chapter…_

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><p>According to plan, the Malfoys arrived in France just in time for Draco's and Herculen's birthday. It was sometime in the early afternoon when their train pulled into a station near Province and their bags were unloaded by a waiting house elf. A buggy then brought them to the correct building, where they were quickly ushered inside and lead to an elegant suite that filled the whole top floor of the primly dressed inn. A maid set about unloading their things, and so there was nothing for the Malfoys to do but go explore the nearby town. Indeed, the buildings were ancient, but they also sold quite a few things of interest, so it wasn't long before Narcissa had disappeared leaving Lucius to find something for the boys to do. It wasn't hard to find an activity, however, because Herculen ever so wanted to go view the art gallery. This was fine by his father, and soon the trio was marching about the silent halls observing artworks that dated back centuries. Admittedly, it wasn't particularly interesting to Draco, however the little boy entertained himself with a crossword that the museum offered guests. That night the family arrived fashionably late to their dinner reservation, and a gigantic chocolate cake was presented to the boys. The local musicians played happy birthday with their violins, and then the buggy transported the family back to the inn. All in all, it was quite a successful day in Herculen's opinion. The boys were promised their presents the next day in order to drag out the celebration.<p>

The next day, indeed Hercuelen found a mountain of presents from his parents littering his bedroom. They varied from Swiss chocolates, to Scottish shortcakes, to some well made London attire. Draco too received a couple of presents, although he was more than aware that they were all from his mother, and they were all marked 'made in Province, France'. His father surprised him by giving him a pat on the back and a verbal 'happy birthday, Draco'. It was certainly more than last year which had been spent at home. In fact it made Draco rather proud, and he boasted about it to his brother later on.

This day, the whole family traveled by horse out to the countryside away from town in order to see some of the grand ancient buildings created by wizards of the 1500s. That night, they moved on to see Alsace where they spent several days being served the best local dishes, and viewing various art galleries and grandiose buildings. After that, they moved on into the real countryside, and that's when things began to stop going according to plan.

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><p>"Lovely little hotel," Narcissa remarked after their buggy rolled up alongside a small gardened inn. It was already beginning to grow dark, as the last lodge had been simply too interesting to leave any earlier. The stars twinkled over head of the glowing, cream colored building, and ivy wound its way up to the second story windows which were flooded with a warm, yellow light.<p>

"Yes, it is rather nice. Driver, you may put the buggy in back once we're inside. I'm sure someone will get our bags," Lucius told the buggy driver from the backseat, and then he watched as the Frenchman helped each of his family set down from the rather high step. He was surprised, however, when there was no one standing near the door to greet them.

"Come, I'm sure they are awaiting our arrival inside," Lucius told his family, and then he marched up to the door of the inn and hammered upon it with the silver head of his cane. It took several moments, but finally a hunched, elderly man answered the door, glancing at Lucius questioningly.

"Oui?" the man asked.

"Yes, hello. I believe you were expecting us?" Lucius glared down at the little man.

"Quoi? Je crains ne pas comprendre," the man replied.

Lucius frowned, however he called upon his French lessons from years and years ago and angrily told the man that they had a reservation and had better get into the hotel quickly or the entire staff would be rather sorry.

"Noms, s'il vous plait?" the man calmly asked.

"Malfoy. I am Lucius Malfoy, and this is my family. Nous sommes les Malfoy!" Lucius snarled.

"Malfoy," the little old man nodded several times as if suddenly understanding one's inside joke, and Lucius practically growled.

"Grand-père, qui est-ce?" a young girl suddenly appeared at the door, staring at the Malfoys untrustingly.

"Malfoy," the old man smiled, however the girl's eyes widened.

"Oh!" she cried. "Pardon Mr. Malfoy. My grand-père is just confused. Please, please come inside. Forgive us for any inconvenience. Do you have bags?"

"Of course we have bags," Lucius spat. "What kind of an establishment is this?"

"Oh, pardon, where're they, the bags?" she asked nervously in a heavily tainted accent.

"In back with the buggy of course," Lucius's eyes flashed. "Were you not expecting us?"

"No no, we were, it's just that my père had to make a, a rush visit into town. Most of the other guests arrived earlier. We did not know if you would still be coming, you see?"

"I do see. Perhaps we should leave then, yes?"

"No no, please, I can get your bags. I have the key to your rooms right over here!" the girl ran behind a counter, her grandfather watching the exchange with concern lining his wrinkled face. The girl returned with two keys, which Lucius ripped from her hands harshly, glaring at her and telling her to hurry up with the bags before motioning for his family to go upstairs. Once they had disappeared, he turned to the girl, his face red.

"Before you open up an establishment, figure out how to run it. This place is a disgrace. If you can't figure out how to better treat your guests, you might find that you will no longer have any, I can make sure of that."

He then turned and stormed upstairs, his cloak billowing behind him.

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><p>The next morning, Herculen woke to find his brother still sleeping soundly. After the confrontation downstairs, the brothers had had a discussion about proper hotel treatment, and Draco received an earful about how this was not proper hotel treatment. Herculen had eventually worn himself out, however he felt quite refreshed now. Despite the bad service, Hercule decided that the hotel had wonderful down comforters that made him feel as if he was floating.<p>

Suddenly, Herculen realized that he was starving, and so he pulled a bathrobe around himself before magically summoning room service.

"Yes," he spoke into the flower designated for room service calls, "I would like eggs benedict, over easy. Get some warm cereal for my brother as well. Hmm, how about with blueberries."

Herculen's voice woke his brother, who yawned softly and asked what time it was.

"I'd say about eight o'clock, that's what time I usually wake up these days," Herculen told his brother. "It's what all good wizards should do. This one mud-blood at Hogwarts always says this stupid thing about 'early to bed, early to rise makes a wizard healthy and wise' or some such nonsense, but the early to rise part certainly is true. I called for breakfast, hopefully they don't botch that too. However, if they do you can see what I've been learning from father."

"What's that?" Draco asked, always curious to see what one might learn from his father. Anything he could do to be more like Herculen certainly would be a good idea for Draco to copy. After all, his father seemed to love everything Herculen did. Perhaps Draco could earn his favor by copying his brother?

"Well," Herculen cleared his throat. "If things don't go father's way naturally, he makes them go his way. I mean, what he did last night was absolutely too too brilliant."

"Was it?" Draco asked, confused which part was brilliant.

"Yes, I mean, father has a way with showing off his power, you understand little brother? All good purebloods do, though. I mean, we have to keep the lower wizards and mud-bloods in their place somehow, don't we? Father is excellent at it. I think I'll give it a try, you know, just to see if I can. Obviously I won't be as good at it as father because sometimes even he takes it a little too far, I think. But, if I'm ever going to give it a try, I might as well do it here. I don't want to do it at Hogwarts and sully my good reputation. At least, not yet anyway. Keep in mind though, little brother, that you don't always want to take it as far as father, because you don't want people to hate you, just to do what you tell them to. I afraid some people really do hate poor father. Sometimes I worry that you even hate poor father!"

Draco was so taken off guard by Herculen's comment that he only blinked for a moment. Then he shook his head adamantly.

"I don't hate father!" Draco sounded shocked by the very idea, and Herculen nodded.

"Very good, Draco. You must never hate father, he is the procurer to you in our line."

"Our what?" Draco asked, confused.

"You know, our family? In any case, he is your father besides. Don't act so nervous around him. He doesn't appreciate that, it only makes you look weak."

"It does?" Draco asked, biting his lip nervously.

"Yes, and don't do that either. Listen, I know you want father to like you. All you have to do is act a bit more surly and superior. He appreciates that."

"Really?"

"Really. Oh where is that breakfast? Service here is rather awful, don't you think Draco? You know, I think I will give you a demonstration of how to act in order to get father to appreciate you a bit more as a passable pureblood. Of course, I will always be the far more passable pureblood. Just joking, Draco! Honestly, you must learn to appreciate one's sense of humor."

"I'm sorry," Draco murmured.

"Pishposh, there's nothing to be sorry about, dear brother, you just need to be more open minded."

The door handle turned just then, and a boy about Herculen's age stood there holding a tray of food.

"You're late," Herculen spat at the boy before he even had a chance to speak. "How long does it take one to make breakfast here?"

"Pardon," the boy bowed slightly.

"Just hand the food here," Herculen snapped, however his lip curled back in disgust the moment he had the plate in his hands.

"What is this? I asked for over-easy eggs. I can tell that these are ridiculously runny. Did you cook them at all?"

"Pardon, Master Malfoy, would you like some more eggs?" the boys stammered, clearly afraid of the dangerous glint in Herculen's eyes.

"I would think so, you pathetic little excuse for a wizard. If my father heard about this, he'd shut this place down! Now hurry up before I hex you."

The boy swallowed and nodded vigorously, fleeing the room in seconds.

"See, you do that and father will appreciate you more, I'll bet," Herculen turned to his brother who was staring after the French boy, his brows knitted together.

"You really think so?" Draco asked, turning to stare at his brother's now warm, smiling face.

"I do think so. Just don't do it to teachers at Hogwarts, you want them to love you. If you ever see a chance to make a teacher adore you by ratting out a bad kid or giving them a present, do so immediately! Now, you should give this a try later on. Probably not with the little delivery boy, I don't believe he can take much more, but someone else you encounter. Tell me how it goes!"

Before long, the teenage girl from the day before delivered the Malfoy brothers' breakfast and disappeared in a huff.

"Well, she's not very friendly, is she?" Herculen mocked before digging into his perfectly cooked eggs benedict, his brother pausing before following suit with his warm cereal.

* * *

><p>It was determined that Narcissa wanted to go shopping in the nearby town, while Herculen endlessly wanted to go with his father to see an very old manor that had been turned into a museum. However, they had an age rule at that museum and Draco didn't qualify. Frankly, his father didn't seem to mind, so Draco was left to entertain himself at the inn.<p>

After studying his potions book from Snape and playing with the little silver dragon, Draco found himself to be quite bored, and hungry. It was past his lunch time when he called for room service, yet his call wasn't answered. Slightly frustrated, Draco sent the call again, yet there was still no response. Frowning, he decided to go downstairs and ask the front desk about it, despite his mother's demand that he stay locked up in his room all day.

Downstairs, Draco found a middle aged man working the front desk. Draco didn't recognize him, but he approached him anyway and asked why the room service wasn't working. Maybe he'd even try his brother's act.

"Lunch is only served from eleven to one. It is now two o'clock gamin," the man frowned down at the boy, who suddenly felt very embarrassed. However, he did his best impression of his brother's frown.

"Well…. Well who cares, you should deliver it anyway! This estab… establish…This establishmend has terrible service!"

The man only snorted, turning back to his work.

"So, you're not going to do room service?" Draco asked.

"Aucun," the man replied, to which Draco only shook his head, confused. Then the man told Draco: "You leave, gamin."

Then the man turned and began to walk into the back of the hotel.

"I expect better in the future!" Draco called after the inn worker, trying to keep his voice from shaking as the man turned as gave Draco a disapproving look.

"Do you, gamin?" the inn keeper snorted. Then he muttered something in French as he turned and continued to walk away. Desperate to elicit a reaction similar to how Herculen's conversation had gone, Draco wracked his brain for a something powerful to say. Finally, lacking anything better, Draco remembered something Herculen had said, and he shouted a similar phrase.

"My father will hear about this!" Draco shouted after the inn keeper, who turned around, bemused.

"Your fatheir?" The inn keeper's strong accent was filled with amusement, similar to his eyes.

"Yes, Lucius Malfoy!" Draco declared. He was nearly giving up at this point in trying to be like his brother, but suddenly fear filled the inn keeper's eyes.

"Lucius Malfoy is your père? Your fatheir?"

Draco nodded slowly, baffled by this change in the inn keeper, and the man fumbled with a pen near him, scribbling a note with shaking hands. He dropped the pen, and Draco was about to pick it up, when the inn keeper shook his head desperately.

"No no, no need for that Monsieur Malfoy. You go right up to your room! Someone shall be up to assist you, immédiatement!"

Nodding slowly, Draco retreated up the stairs, wondering over the inn keeper's strange reaction to Draco's father's name. Did the name Lucius Malfoy really hold so much power that it's mere mention could get things done?

A few minutes later, a hotel maid was delivering a package of sweets in 'apology for any inconvenience', and assisting Draco with anything he needed.

'Perhaps I should bring up my father's name more often?" Draco distantly wondered as his lunch was severed within moments on a shining silver tray.

When Herculen came home that night, Draco told him about his experience with the innkeeper, and Herculen's eyes shown.

"Amazing job, Draco," Herculen smiled at his brother. "I'm sure father will like you now."

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><p><strong>AU: <strong>_So, what do you think? Please review and tell me your opinion of Herculen or anything else :)_


	5. Chapter 5

**AU: **_Thanks to** readingaddict24, standasawitness, risi, **and **Morwyn K **for reviews last chapter! I love hearing from readers :)_

_Hope you enjoy!_

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><p>"Ah, it's good to be home."<p>

Those were the first words that dropped from Herculen's mouth when the Malfoys stepped back into their own marbled entry hall sometime in early July, but Draco didn't believe his brother- not in the slightest.

Draco wasn't going to complain, after all complaining to family only brought loads of problems, but it had been a very dull vacation for him. Once Draco boasted to his father of how well it had worked the first time, the eight-year-old found himself constantly left in the inn rooms as Narcissa went to shop and Herculen left with Lucius to do things that Draco was just a little too young for.

_"After all," Lucius had said each time. "If you enjoyed yourself so immensely in the hotel room and you got such good practice at how to be a proper pure blood, by all means we must not take that experience away from you!"_

And so each time his family returned, Draco tried his hardest to have something to say about his day, although by the second week he was running rather low on ideas. Narcissa began to frequently ask if he wanted to go shopping with her, but a glance at his father told him to say no because he still needed practice becoming a 'proper pureblood'. By the end of the whole thing he was so sick of yelling at 'lower wizards' that he never wanted to see them again. Anything to spare his vocal chords the agony of shouting about late meals or his father's name, which always got things done ten times faster. Herculen, on the other hand, seemed to have had a wonderful time, he couldn't really be happy to be home.

"Yes I do think it's good to be home again," Narcissa echoed her son.

"Sandy, our bags are in the buggy. Well don't just stand, there get moving! I do believe we have been away too long, the house elves have forgotten themselves," Lucius watched as the little house elf skittered away to do her job. "Well, no matter. It shouldn't take long for them to remember."

Narcissa nodded absentmindedly, and then she disappeared into the parlor to see what had become of the rose-in-a-bottle she'd been growing in there.

"Come on, Draco. Let's go unpack," Herculen told his brother, but Lucius surprised both boys by shaking his head.

"I need to speak to Draco. He'll be up to join you momentarily, Herculen."

Herculen nodded, unconcerned, before he levitated his suitcase and hurried up the stairs. Draco then turned to stare up at his father, who nodded toward the sitting room. Draco followed his father, and sat quickly on the loveseat when he was told to. He was surprised when his father sat beside him rather than across from him in the armchair. After several moments of adjusting himself, Lucius began to speak.

"I noticed on this vacation that you spent much of the time away from your family," Lucius's voice seemed chastening, and Draco's nostrils flared. What did he think the reason for that was? Yet Lucius continued. "However, I do believe that the reason for that was not uncalled for. Draco, I noticed that you are finally taking your place in the world. You are finally realizing where purebloods stand, and you are taking your place among them. I am proud of you."

Draco's jaw dropped. He was _proud _of him? His _father _was _proud _of him?

"And so," Lucius continued without pause. "I have something for you."

A tiny green package was extracted from Lucius's pocket, and it found itself into Draco's palm. Slowly, Draco pulled at the silver ribbon and placed the top of the box on the loveseat. Then he peeled back the grass green tissue paper, and almost dropped the package when he saw it was a tiny tie pin in the shape of an intricate M.

"It must never be said that I don't reward good behavior," Lucius told his son. "Do you like it?"

"Yes father, thank you!" Draco tore his gaze from the present.

"You're welcome. I am proud to call you son."

Then Lucius stood and bid his son farewell before marching away to deal with the lazy house elves.

Running his hand over the tie pin, Draco's heart swelled. His first present from his father! _Good behavior _his father had said. If he kept up with this good behavior, surely more of this kind of treatment would follow. His father was _proud of him!_ Draco's chest swelled with elation and he marched grandly up the stairs, arriving quickly in Herculen's room.

"Hello, what did father want?" Herculen asked the moment Draco stepped into the green paradise, and Draco beamed.

"He wanted to give me this tie pin for good behavior!" Draco declared, extending a hand, and Herculen peered at the tie pin, his brow raising.

"That's lovely," he told Draco honestly. "I'm so glad that he noticed your efforts on this vacation. I could tell you were trying quite hard; it would have been wrong for father to ignore your labors."

Draco simply continued to beam.

"Well, have you unpacked yet?" Herculen moved on, and Draco shook his head. "Well do so, and then let's go see the garden! It's been far too long since we scampered around out there."

Draco grinned when he saw the impish smile that had been missing from his brother's face for so long, and he rushed to unpack his bags. He was just finishing when he heard a cry from downstairs. He rushed into Herculen's room to see if his brother knew what was going on, but Herculen seemed unconcerned.

"What was that?" Draco asked nervously, but his brother only rolled his eyes.

"Oh, father believes the house elves have lost their abilities over our vacation or some such nonsense. He doesn't think it nonsense though, so he's teaching them a lesson. Don't concern yourself with it, Draco. Nasty business if you ask me. Come on, let's go outside!"

Draco followed his brother, his face wrinkled as he tried to make sense of what his brother told him. He gave up, however, when he stepped outside and took in the blooming gardens. They hadn't changed while the family had been away, and they were still stunning. There had always been something particularly special about the manor's gardens in Draco's mind, and he loved to come out and sit under a tree to read a book while his brother was away at Hogwarts. It was unfortunate that his tutor couldn't teach out here because he was 'allergic to the outdoors".

"Let's go look at the roses by the gazebo," Herculen decided, and so the brothers hurried off to the gazebo that stood rather far from the house. Going inside was like entering a fairy's home. Vines traveled up the edges and many flowers adorned the top creating a gentle shade that one could sit in, surrounded by the odor of rose petals.

"It's been a while since I was out here," Herculen murmured, sitting down on one of the benches in the shade. Draco joined him quickly. "Do you come out here often while I'm away at Hogwarts?"

Draco nodded, and his brother smiled.

"I'm glad, I love the gardens. Don't tell anyone, but I look forward to taking Professor Sprouts class next year. She teaches herbology. Only hufflepuffs are supposed to like it, and I hate Hufflepuffs, but I do want to take herbology. Plants are so special; they are living but not like you and I. They are in their own world of sun and greenery. Aren't they lovely?"

Draco wasn't sure what was so lovely about a plant, although he did like the gardens, so he simply nodded.

Herculen's eyes turned mischievous all of a sudden, and he gently pushed his brother.

"Dementor, you're it!" Herculen declared gleefully, and Draco's eyes widened. They hadn't played Dementor, You're It for years now, but he didn't mind. He'd secretly wanted to play the game for a long time, but Herculen seemed to have out grown it. Now Herculen was chasing away to the right, so Draco leaped to his feet and ran after him. Eventually his brother ran out of breath, so Herculen became the dementor, and Draco rushed toward the maze. It was the best place to play Dementor, You're It. The brothers always had a pact not to let their father see them in case he didn't think it right for his sons to run about in the garden, so the maze was a good place to hide.

Draco quickly got himself lost, but when his brother leaped from a row of shrubbery, Draco knew it was now his turn to be the dementor. However, the leap ended up causing both brothers to fall upon the soft grass underneath the shrubbery, and both brothers dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"You haven't wanted to play that game for a long time!" Draco declared happily, and Herculen smiled warmly.

"Perhaps I finally grew tired of being a grown-up Hogwarts student. I missed being home, Draco. I missed you."

Draco nodded, signaling that he'd missed his brother's more playful side quite a bit, but now Herculen stood and dusted himself off.

"Well, that was good fun. Do you want to explore the maze?"

Draco nodded quickly, and the brothers traversed about the rows of shrubbery until they finally found themselves back outside and at the manor's entrance sometime around six o'clock.

"I hope the house elves have dinner ready," Draco told Herculen. "I'm starved!"

"I'm not surprised after all that running," his brother replied. "Come on. Make sure your hair isn't mussed or father'll know."

Draco ran his hands through his hair several times for good measure; however Herculen didn't need to due to his gel which kept it perfect through any event.

Herculen opened the door, and abruptly tripped over a house elf.

"Pilpy is to tell Master Herculen and Master Draco that it is time for dinner," the house elf bowed, however Herculen simply snarled at the house elf.

"Fine, but don't stand in doorways one is about to enter, you stupid house elf. I could have fallen!"

Stepping around the house elf, Herculen stormed up stairs to change for dinner leaving Draco to glance at the house elf nervously. The house elf did nothing but bow even lower, and Draco scurried upstairs after his brother to also change for the evening meal. That house elf was much more submissive than even before they'd left. In fact, he'd used to play with Pilpy and Dobby as a little boy. Sure he hadn't talked to Pilpy for a while, but it was odd to see his old playmate bowing to him of all people.

_'Oh well, maybe I really am becoming like father,'_ Draco thought. Surely that was a good thing, for then his father might be even more proud of him!

At dinner that night, Lucius asked what had occupied the boys' time all day.

"We found our way to the center of the maze and back each time it changed," Herculen told his father quickly, and Lucius gave a single nod before beginning his meal.

* * *

><p>The rest of the summer held few changes for the brothers. They were basically left to themselves, so most of the time they spent together and the rest of the time was spent reading or studying for the coming year. Draco was almost through his potions book, when one night he discovered a page at the very back labeled 'Ask for Help.'<p>

Well, he was having trouble with one of the potions, so he thought 'why not?'

Dipping his peacock quill in an inkwell, Draco wrote his question. The writing disappeared, but nothing replied to it, and Draco sighed, disappointed. He played with the long quill, wondering if maybe he should go to bed because it was rather late, when suddenly words appeared.

_"Sorry for the wait,"_ the words read. "_You must stir very slowly to the right, then to the left, then right again. Do not stir quickly or it will ruin it."_

Draco's eyebrow raised, and he dipped his pen again.

_"Professor Snape?" _Draco asked, and he received a _yes _in return.

_"How are you?" _Draco wrote, excited. They hadn't talked since he found out that Snape wasn't a pureblood.

_"I am well. And you? How was your trip to France?"_

_"It was okay. Father gave me a present for good behavior! He said he was proud of me!"_

_"That's wonderful Draco! What is the present?"_

_"It's a tiepin in the shape of an M that turns into a little snake at the bottom."_

_"Really? That's a genuine Malfoy tie pin. I'm glad for you."_

Draco hesitated, what else was there to say?

_"Are you enjoying the potions book?" _Snape wrote, and Draco smiled.

_"I love it! And I love the little silver dragon. I keep him in my pocket all the time. He's wonderful. He was also good company in France. Thank you."_

_"You're very welcome, Draco. Well, I do believe it is time you are in bed. It is almost midnight. Go to sleep."_

Draco rolled his eyes, but he scribbled _'fine'_ and then closed the potions book. Stretching, Draco stood from his desk and got into his silk pajamas. Yawning, Draco slipped between the covers and fell quickly asleep.

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><p><strong>AU: <strong>_Well, what do you think? Please tell me your opinions :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks to **risi, standasawitness, and readingaddict24 **for your reviews :)_

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><p>The summer passed much too quickly for Draco's liking for, with Hogwarts looming in front of him, Herculen once again became simply the perfect Malfoy child with little to no resemblance of Draco's playmate. Draco didn't mind being 'little brother' rather than Draco, in fact he was rather attached to the childhood nickname, however he didn't like the condescending tone his brother suddenly attached to the name. Nevertheless, Draco was terribly disappointed when he watched the Hogwarts train depart with his brother inside. Soon he'd be going to Hogwarts with his brother, and he couldn't wait. After all, all he had to look forward to now was another year of owls that his father could brag about while Draco stayed silent.<p>

Draco couldn't wait until he was sending home owls of his own which his father could brag about.

"Come, Draco, it's time to go home," Lucius placed a strong hand on Draco's shoulder, who grimaced under the suddenly harsh grasp.

"Lucius," Narcissa spoke softly, and her husband nodded.

"I know, I see them, and I believe they've spotted us as well. Alright, well change of plans. Come, Draco, I might as well give you a little lesson in behaviors around blood traitors."

Lucius pushed Draco forward, who realized they were headed toward a group of red heads. One looked to be the father and the other two were identical which made Draco very confused. The identicals poked each other as the Malfoy's drew nearer, while the father whispered something to them which might have been to keep quiet.

"How quaint," Lucius said when they'd arrived at where the gingers stood. "It's Weasley senior and his identical kiddies come to wave their dear family goodbye. Where's the rest of the tornado of family members you're always taking about?"

"They stayed at home," the father frowned. "How do you do, Lucius?"

"Oh well certainly better than you I see. This is my son, Draconis. Say hello," Lucius squeezed his son's shoulder, and Draco swallowed a whimper. Since when was his name Draconis? Had that always been his name?

"Hello," Draco murmured.

"Hello, Draconis," one of the twins giggled and poked the other causing Draco to eye them uneasily as he chewed his lip.

Lucius glared at Draco, but after a moment of silence, he turned his attention back to the father Weasley.

"I see your sons haven't taken after Molly's side of the family. They are decidedly following your sense of what constitutes good manors," he stated. "Well, I suppose I'll see you at work, Weasley."

With that, Lucius turned and lead his family away.

"You work with him?" Draco asked his father once they were out of ear shot, and Lucius nodded.

"Unfortunately," Lucius sighed. "And next time I expect you to stand up for yourself. If you ever hear a person laughing at you, make them stop, especially if that person is a Weasley. No son of mine will be made a fool of by blood traitors. Now, let us aparate."

With that, the family aparated back to the manor and Lucius stormed away leaving his son to gloat over his error.

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><p>Again, owls constantly arrived from Hogwarts, and Lucius spent much of his time writing long, wordy letters back to his elder son. Draco took to writing in his potions book and waiting for Snape to respond. At least in that way he had some company. His mother also came up to speak with him occasionally, but she never had much of interest to talk about, so Draco found her visits rather dull.<p>

He also occasionally engaged in conversation with the house-elves, however most of them shrank away from his feeble attempts at companionship, and even when one or two did spend a little time with Draco, they were always skittish and on the lookout for his father. Even Dobby was uneasy around Draco, and once when Draco tried inviting Dobby to play with some building blocks, the house elf said that he "mustn't play with Master Draco" and then took off running down the hall. That was the last of Dobby we saw for at least a week.

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><p>Draco was sitting in his room reading a book about poisons that his father had instructed him to go through when there was a knock on his door. He was surprised when his mother entered his chambers and told him his father had a surprise for him.<p>

"Two of your father's good friends from Hogwarts have come to visit and they've brought their sons who are just your age!" Narcissa exclaimed. "Your father wishes you to play with them and become good friends with them so that you can all spend time together once you're at Hogwarts."

Draco put down his book and followed his mother into the sitting room. There, two rather plump boys occupied a couch and were whispering to each other, watching as Lucius and two other men laughed over a bottle of Quintin Black.

"Oh, here he is now!" Lucius smiled as his son timidly entered the room. "Draco, meet Vincent Crabb and Gregory Goyle, the sons of two of my very best friends from Hogwarts."

Lucius nodded at the other two men, who examined Draco from head to toe.

"Good son you've got there," one muttered to Lucius.

"Well," Lucius replied proudly. "He is a Malfoy. Now, Draco why don't you bring young Crabbe and Goyle up to your room to play with all your toys? Entertain them so I can have some time with my own friends!"

Draco blinked at his father for a moment. All his toys? He only had a couple; his number of toys was dwarfed by the number of toys his brother possessed.

Still, young Crabbe and Goyle stood as one and followed Draco out the door.

"So," Vincent Crabbe declared when they got outside. "I remember you. I met you at that Christmas party. I remember thinking you were bloody lucky to have all this place. I'll bet you've got the best toy collection in the wizarding world. Ye hear that, Goyle, I think all this Malfoy stuff is bloody fantastic."

Goyle simply nodded.

"So, where's your bedroom?"

"Oh, it's this way," Draco told the two boys who he was beginning to realise were significantly bigger than him. Their bulk made him feel like a goblin amongst giants; it was almost an unsettling feeling. Maybe he was too small like his father always said.

"It's through here," Draco led them to his door. "I don't actually have that many toys, really, but I'll show you the ones I've got."

With that he pushed open his door, and his jaw dropped. His room was filled with toys; more toys than Herculen owned, more toys than he'd ever seen in a single space, more toys than the toy shop in Diagone Alley could possibly have.

"Not that many toys?" Crabbe raised an eyebrow.

"It's more than I have," Goyle finally spoke up.

"Come on, mate," Crabbe declared, running inside with Goyle and leaving Draco to oodle at the room which just a few minutes ago had resembled a quiet, peaceful study place.

Slowly, Draco walked inside, his eyes darting from the slide that twisted around his room to the popperwalkers that littered every corner. Slowly, he sat upon his bed and watched as the two larger boys zoomed about on the slide until they crumpled onto the floor in a snorting, laughing heap.

"Hey, Malfoy, do you want to play galleon snatchers? It's better with more players," Goyle spoke after the boys finished their raucous laughter. Draco shrugged, and so Goyle grabbed the playing pieces from the side of Malfoy's once tidy dresser. Laying the pieces out, the three boys went about playing a game, which Draco easily won.

"Won, you're amazing at that game Malfoy," Goyle gaped.

"You could get better with practice, I'm sure, Gregory," Draco tried to be a bit diplomatic with these people who his father seemed to want him to be friends with, although in reality he doubted these two could improve at the skill game.

"Oh call him Goyle and me Crabbe," Crabbe spoke up. "Why would you ever call us by our first names? Unless of course you want to, then go ahead I guess..."

"In that case call me Malfoy," Draco shrugged.

"I wish my room was like this!" Goyle spoke. "I wish I was a Malfoy! I wish I had all these toys!"

'I wish you'd be quiet,' Draco thought to himself.

"Hey, can I take some home with me?" Goyle asked.

"I'm sure my father wouldn't want that to happen," Draco hesitated. "But I'm sure you're free to play with them any time you visit."

He wasn't actually sure, really, if they were his or where they came from, but he wasn't going to give them away whoever they belonged to if he had any say in it.

"Oh," Goyle trailed off. "Oh, so I can't take them home?"

"No," Draco said as patiently as he could. "They need to stay here." And then pointed at the ground where the toys sat.

"Hey, don't bother the Malfoy or he might not let us keeping playing with his toys," Crabbe whispered to his friend rather loudly. Draco pretended not to hear as he picked up a snapperister and examined it as if it were fascinating.

"Oh yeah, good idea," Goyle agreed.

"So, what now?" Crabbe asked. "I'm bored. Aren't you bored? Everything's boring."

"How can you be bored with so many toys here?" Draco asked. These people were absurd.

"Oh, uh, I guess I'm not bored then," Crabbe replied.

'Wow,' Draco thought to himself. 'These people are rather agreeable with a little prodding.'

"So what do you want to do, Malfoy?" Crabbe asked.

"I don't know. What do you want to do, Goyle?"

"We don't know what we want to do, so how about we do whatever you want to do," Goyle replied.

"Well why don't we build something? That way we can tear it down!" Draco declared enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" They shouted simultaneously. With that, the boys went about building a gigantic tower of sticky blocks. Once it was complete, they dived at it as one and had a splendid time ripping the structure apart. Eventually a house elf came by to tell Crabbe and Goyle that it was time to leave, much to their disappointment.

"Aw," Goyle whined lightly. "Well, I can't wait to come back here again!"

"Same here," Crabbe agreed.

Draco merely nodded at the two before they excited the room in pursuit of the house elf.

"Bye Malfoy," Crabbe called back to Draco, who nodded again.

Once they were gone, Draco visibly relaxed. Those two were perhaps the most annoying people he'd ever met. They did have one defining quality that made Draco decide they were good for something. They listened to every word he said and followed his every whim. No matter how annoying they were, it was rather nice having a little power for once.

Draco's ears perked for a moment and he heard the noise of footsteps approaching. Straightening his back, Draco fixed his slightly mussed hair just in time for his father to burst into his room. There went his feeling of power.

"Draco," Lucius surprised his son by the slick smile on his face. "Congratulations! The Goyles and Crabbes think your are a true pure blood, my old school mates want their sons to become closer with you, and the boys themselves seemed to have a wonderful time! This kind of behaviour deserves a reward. You may keep these toys in your room for three days before I must take them away so you can concentrate better on your studies. However, don't fret. All of these contraptions will appear when Crabbe and Goyle come to visit again. Now, I expect you to be down for dinner at six pm sharp. Don't allow your new toys to make you late; I will not allow tardiness."

Without another word, Lucius strode from the room shutting the door behind him and leaving his son rather speechless. Apparently Crabbe and Goyle would be visiting again, and though Draco wasn't sure if he was happy about that or not, at least they were someone to talk to. Someone to talk to, no matter how tiresome, was probably better than only his elderly tutor.

Draco then turned to the mountain of toys his father had left in his room, although suddenly he didn't feel all that inspired to play with them. Despite how tiresome they were, Draco almost felt a bit lonely without Crabbe and Goyle to play with. Casting a final look at the slide, Draco marched over to his bed and brushed aside the dozens of stuffed, plushy objects. Instead he grabbed a book about dragons and read with with unsurpassed interest.

* * *

><p>"So, Draco, how was your visit with the Crabbe and Goyle children?"<p>

"It was alright, but they were a bit tiresome," Draco sighed and flipped to the next page of his book as his mother nodded at him from across the library.

"I understand," Narcissa smiled at her son. "However keep in mind that they are purebloods and are your age. They'll be attending Hogwarts at the same time as you; don't you think it'd be nice to have friends there before you ever even arrive at the school?"

"I guess," Draco shrugged. "Did you?"

"Did I what?" Narcissa glanced up from her book.

"Did you have friends before you ever arrived at Hogwarts?"

"Yes I did," Narcissa nodded. "I knew your father long before we went to Hogwarts together. We always knew we were meant to be friends at Hogwarts and that we'd both go into Slytherin. I'm sure the Crabbe and Goyle children will be going into Slytherin, so you shall have ample time to become friends."

"They do everything I tell them to," Draco told his mother with a puckered face. "It's very odd."

"Perhaps they like you," Narcissa replied.

"I guess," Draco shrugged.

"Besides, they know you are a Malfoy, and the Malfoy's are a very powerful pureblood family, remember."

"True," Draco agreed. It continued to perplex him, yet the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if they would end up being very useful. After all, maybe at Hogwarts they could be like his house elves! Herculen said they didn't have house elves at Hogwarts.

"Did you have a good time with them?" Narcissa asked.

"I think so."

"I'm so glad. Now I'd best go plan which dress I should wear for your father's luncheon tomorrow. It's at his work, Draco, so the house elves will take care of you. Your tutor will be here at ten o'clock as always. I'll see you at super, Draco."

With that, Narcissa slipped from the room leaving Draco to pursue the library for another book about potions, although he was running low. Perhaps he should read about Herbology like his brother?

Nah, Draco decided, and instead he picked up Potions, Projects, and Proper Priorities. Maybe tonight he would write to Professor Snape and tell him what new potion was learned today.

* * *

><p>The rest of the fall, Crabbe and Goyle visited Draco every three weeks and spent the days playing in the room full of toys. Each time, Lucius congratulated his son on making friends with the other two purebloods, although Draco respected his playmates less each week. They were atrocious at anything that had to do with thinking and acted as a single being. Once or twice they even fought over who would carry out Draco's commands. They were absolutely ridiculous, but Draco loved his father's praise, so he never said a word against his playmates.<p>

Finally, Christmas drew near and this year Lucius promised that Snape would be visiting along with the Crabbes although the Goyles had other commitments.

When Herculen was picked up from the train station and brought home, Draco could only stare. His brother seemed to have blossomed in the last few months and finally he had obtained the muscles he'd always wanted. He was heads taller than Draco and his smile was more diplomatic than ever.

A casual hug was exchanged between the brothers, and then without anther word Herculen headed for his room.

"Wait," Draco called after him, hurrying to catch up with his brother. "How was Hogwarts?"

"Oh, splendid as always. The quiditch season was marvelous; we won again. I met a girl this year, she's rather stupid but I love her never the less. Her parents are from a pureblood family in Austria that just moved here recently. She's very good at Herbology but not much else. She's very sweet, I guess, people seem to like her. I wouldn't know about that, but she's one of the few in the school who will study dark arts with me, even though I'm not sure she knows exactly what we're studying. The language barrier, you know."

Draco simply blinked at his brother, slightly confused by whatever Herculen was rambling on about.

"Don't tell father about her though," Herculen continued. "I happen to know he wouldn't approve. She's not in Slytherin, you see. Now when you go to Hogwarts, don't get yourself involved with non-Slytherin girls on principal. It was a mistake getting involved with her, but I have now and she is rather a good listener considering she can hardly speak English."

"Are you getting a lot of house points?" Draco changed the subject.

"Of course, little brother. Oh, speaking of which, I've decided I'm going to teach you how to fly on a broom stick. You'll probably get one when you get to Hogwarts, but for now you can use mine. How about in the morning, Draco? I'm dead tired right now. Want to play wizards chess? You can get it out of the drawer in my bookshelf."

Draco obediently proceeded to pull the chess set out from the bookshelf and place it on the table at the foot of Herculen's bed. Herculen won of course, both times they played, and then the brothers were called to dinner during which Herculen told his father of all sorts of stories from his days at Hogwarts before Draco excused himself and went to write to Snape.

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><p>"No, Draco, you have to command your broom with your mind!"<p>

"What?"

"Tell it where to go, but don't say it out loud."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Who cares, it'll shouldn't be this hard. Now sit on the boom, and make it fly."

Draco sighed, frustrated, and tried again to make the bottom fly. Herculen had been trying to teach him for over an hour, and Draco could hardly get it off the ground.

"There, there it's up! Oh, never mind."

Herculen helped his brother stand once again, and Draco winced. He'd have a whole lot of bruises from the broom dropping to the ground by the time this was through.

"Here let me show you," Herculen snatched the broom from his brother and sat upon it. Moments later, it was levitated off the ground with Herculen atop it.

"See? It's simple! Now you try."

Draco tried again, and once more he hovered for several seconds before Draco dropped onto his back with a grunt.

"You are awful at this, aren't you Draco? It's a good thing you had a go at it before you ever arrived at Hogwarts. Almost no one is so bad except this one extremely fat kid who couldn't get his arse of the ground. Honestly Draco, try it again and get it right this time!"

Draco shrank away from his brother's harsh voice, and once again sat upon his broom. Concentrating as hard as he could, he swallowed the tears of frustration that threatened to fall and tried to fly. Once again, his broom lifted shakily into the air, only this time it stayed there. For a moment, Herculen was silent, and then he began to cheer.

"Great job!" He declared. "That's it!"

Draco spared a tiny smile before his broom wobbled dangerously. Still, he kept it in the air and grinned down at his brother.

"There, now try to take it higher and go forward!" Herculen called up to Draco. "Good, good that's high enough, go forward!"

Hesitantly, Draco inched the broom forward, but Herculen shook his head and shouted up at Draco.

"Shoot forward! Pretend it's a race, go fast!"

Gulping, Draco tried to make his broom shoot forward, and to his shock it did. However, then he didn't know how to stop it.

"Where are you going? Come back!" Herculen called after his frustration. When Draco continued to shoot away, Herculen sighed and marched after his rapidly disappearing brother.

"Pull back on the broom like I told you to, you idiot," Herculen muttered, but Draco was far out of earshot even if his brother had shouted at him.

Suddenly, footsteps pounded on the snow behind him, and Herculen spun to see his father standing behind him, just slightly out of breath.

"Why is Draco on a broom?" Lucius asked, his voice just as smooth as ever though his eyes searched the sky. "And where did he go?"

"I was trying to teach him to fly, and even though I told him how, apparently he forgot how to stop. Oh, here he comes again."

Draco shot by his father and brother on his broom, screaming loudly at this point. Lucius merely rolled his eyes.

"It isn't very hard to stop a broom stick," he muttered. "Well, perhaps I should go up after him. He seems rather incapable."

"He is. It took him an hour just to get off the ground!"

Lucius's eyebrows shot upwards and he glanced up at his screaming son.

"Ridiculous. Good thing you taught him before he ever arrived at Hogwarts."

"My thoughts exactly. Oh dear, I think he's going to crash."

Herculen and his father watched at Draco barely missed hitting a tower of the manor and then crashed into a tree instead. For a moment he hung by the back of his shirt, and then he dropped to the snowy ground with a cry.

Herculen took off running to see if his brother was alright, and Lucius followed casually.

"Well," Herculen dropped down beside his brother. "I hope you'll remember how to stop next time. You alright, little brother? Little brother? Draco?"

Draco was clutching his arm, and suddenly he let out a pained cry.

"Draco, are you alright?" Herculen's voice was now filled with concern.

"My arm," Draco squeaked. "It's, it hurts so much. Herculen help!"

Herculen's eyes flew to Draco's arm, and he paled. Suddenly Herculen felt sick to his stomach for Draco's arm was clearly injured. In fact, the bone peaked out from a nasty injury.

"My arm!" Draco cried again, just as his father arrived.

"Be glad it wasn't your neck. Do you know how dangerous it is to go broom riding without being sure of how to command your broom?"

"Father," Herculen interrupted. "I think his arm is really hurt, badly."

Lucius frowned at the two boys who sat on the ground, and then with an indignant huff he knelt down beside them. Immediately, his eyes widened, but he was quick to school his expression into one of milder shock.

"Yes, he uh, he needs medical attention. Draco, I'm going to uh, to lift you up."

Stooping, Lucius lifted the whimpering, crying Draco as Herculen watched with worried eyes.

"Do you need help, father?" He asked.

"No, run ahead and tell your mother to call a healer. I'll be right behind."

Herculen nodded and hurried toward the house.

"It'll... It'll be alright Draco. Keep being brave," Lucius muttered to his whimpering son, and suddenly Draco's pain seemed to reduce a little. His father had just comforted him! He'd called him brave!

As Lucius carried his son back into the manor, Draco wondered if being hurt wasn't such a bad thing after all.

* * *

><p><strong>AU: <strong>I_ don't know what a popperwalker or snapperister is; I made them up and they sound wizardish._

_I'll continue the story during this same winter break after the healer arrives, I just thought this was a good place to leave off for now._

_Also, just a disclaimer, I do not agree with and in fact I highly dislike terms like 'fat' used in the way Herculen used it, but I wanted it to relate to a certain line said by Draco in The Philosopher's Stone. I don't mean to offend anybody; please don't take this line seriously. I really don't want to hurt anyone's feelings! I apologise if I did. _


	7. Chapter 7

**AU: **_Wow, so many reviews last chapter! Thanks so much :)  
>Thank you to <em>**standasawitness, AUaddict, risi, MoonstoneSeeker, ****Guest, **and **kenziescott54 **_for your reviews. I'm so glad you are enjoying it!_

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><p>"So, how is he?"<p>

The healer who had been examining Draco for the past ten minutes glanced up at the impatient voice of Lucius Malfoy, and he sighed gently.

"Give us a moment, Draco," he told the blonde child, who simply moaned softly. A pain controlling spell had been cast, but Draco's arm still throbbed. Lucius almost looked worried for a moment when Draco moaned a second time, and he told Draco that they'd be right back in the most fatherly voice he could possibly conjure, before the healer lead him to the door. They stood just inside the room, whispering so Draco couldn't hear.

"Well," Lucius snapped. "Surely you must have come to a conclusion by now."

"Yes, I'm a afraid your son has a compound fracture which can be healed partially with magic which will make his arm less susceptible to infection, however I fear that completely healing the bone with magic could lead to more complications. What I recommend is using magic to get the bone back inside the skin, put a cast on it, and allow it to heal the rest of the way on its own."

"How long will that take?" Lucius asked slowly.

"Oh, perhaps a month, perhaps more. Give him this potion every morning and night for at least three weeks. It will help with pain and healing. You were smart to call me early. Sometimes these fractures cause healers to have to cut it the arm off."

"Cut it off?" Lucius exclaimed much too loudly, and Draco gave a short cry.

"You're going to cut my arm off?" Draco wailed, and the healer shook his head slightly.

"No need for that," he assured the child. "It should heal perfectly given time."

"You can't make it heal any faster?" Lucius snapped. The healer simply sighed and shook his head.

"Not without the possibility of further damage. I must warn you that, despite all these precautions, that right arm of his might be a bit weak and prone to injury for many years."

Lucius's eyes narrowed, however he said nothing.

"Now," the healer turned to Draco. "Let's see about healing that arm of yours."

Lucius watched carefully as the healer stepped forward, wand outstretched. In seconds, Draco cried out loudly. When his cries turned into soft whimpers, the healer quickly wrapped a cast about Draco's arm.

"There, remember the potion every morning and night. There's not much else I can do for you, I already healed all the superficial wounds. Good luck, Mr. Malfoy."

With that, the healer left the room, Draco still whimpering dramatically. A few seconds later, Herculen ran in and hurried over to his father and brother.

"What was that about cutting it off?" Herculen exclaimed, and Draco moaned.

"There will be no need for that," Lucius frowned. "Draco will be alright in a month or so. Until then, he should rest. Alright, Draco?"

Draco moaned, and Lucius swallowed.

"Here, I got this for you," Lucius put a small chocolate in Draco's other hand. Draco glanced up in shock. "I hope it makes you feel better."

Draco stared wide-eyed at the chocolate, before he very slowly began to nibble on it. After a few more silent moments, Lucius marched from the room.

"Wow, you're good," Herculen giggled, but Draco only looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked before he whimpered again.

"You know, acting hurt. You are acting, aren't you?"

"No," Draco shook his head.

"Oh, I thought you were so you'd get father's attention. In that case, I'm sorry Draco. It must really hurt."

"It does."

"Hey, you want to play wizard chess? You just shouldn't use your broken arm."

Draco shrugged, and Herculen hurried to grab the chess set from Draco's bookshelf. Levitating it just to the left of Draco, Herculen pulled up a chair and told Draco to make the first move.

"Wait," Draco hesitated. "You think father is actually worried about me?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Herculen nodded. "I was too. You seemed pretty hurt!"

Draco glanced at his broke arm in wonder.

"You know, tomorrow is Christmas," Draco sighed, and Herculen nodded.

"Yes, I'm perfectly aware tomorrow is Christmas. I'm sure you can get up for that. Otherwise, I guess we could open presents in here!"

Draco smiled thankfully at his brother, and then hurried to make the first chess move.

* * *

><p>The next day, Draco woke up early as he always did on Christmas, and before long Lucius came into his room to give him his potion and ask how he felt.<p>

"It hurts pretty badly," Draco replied, and Lucius nodded.

"Do you think you can make it downstairs?" Lucius asked, and Draco nodded.

"Good boy," Lucius's smile was proud. "Be down as soon as you can. Do you need a house elf to help you?"

"I think I'll be okay," Draco replied, and Lucius nodded before he hurried away.

Draco got ready, and then made his way out into the hall. He was surprised to find his mother waiting out there for him.

"You father said you didn't want a house elf to help you, but I don't want you to fall and further injure yourself. Come along, Draco," she smiled warmly at her son, whose eyes lit up at all this attention from both of his parents. Together, mother and son went downstairs to find Herculen waiting for them.

"Professor Snape and the Crabbes have just arrived," he said. "We're ready to start presents, and then have a Christmas meal."

Draco was helped into the room, where he was met with a very enthusiastic Vincent Crabbe.

"I heard you almost had to cut off your arm!" Crabbe practically jumped up and down as Draco took a step back in hopes of not being knocked over. "That's so cool!"

Draco's brows pulled together skeptically in obvious confusion, and he shrugged.

"Yeah, it hurts pretty bad," he nodded.

"Wow," Crabbe breathed, staring blatantly at the arm.

"Well, let's get started," Lucius clapped his arms.

Herculen pulled Draco over to a chair near Snape, who nodded at Draco.

"How is the arm?" Snape asked slowly, and Draco shrugged.

"It kinda hurts still," he replied.

"Understandable," Snape nodded. Then Snape turned away to watch as Crabbe opened the first gift, wrapping paper flying wildly around the room. A large clump of wrapping paper landed in Lucius's lap, and he glanced down at it, startled. For a moment, he pretended to chuckle before he picked it up with two fingers and tossed it on the floor for a house elf to deal with. Then he whispered something to Narcissa, who nodded and told Herculen to open the next gift. Herculen's wrapping paper landed in a small pile as he delicately tore it off. Then the pile disappeared as Herculen stealthily used a vanishing charm, at which Lucius beamed with pride.

"You should open one now," Herculen told Draco, who glanced at his own broken arm.

"Oh, right," Herculen nodded slowly, then his face lit up. "I'll help you tear off the wrapping paper!"

Herculen retrieved a present for Draco, and Draco was shocked to see that it came from his father. He was getting presents from his father now? When did that happen?

As the day passed, Draco was shocked to receive lots of presents from his father, although his mother and Snape only gave him one each. Their presents to him were smaller, yet somehow his mother's painting of a dragon flying over a sparkling lake and Snape's potions set seemed more heartfelt than the bucket loads of toys his father was showering him with.

"Wow," Crabbe declared each time Herculen helped Draco to open a present. "You're so lucky! Your father is so awesome!"

After the mountain of presents under the tree was gone, a Christmas meal was served at the long dining table. Draco was extremely disappointed when Herculen and Crabbe sat next to him rather than Herculen and Snape, however Crabbe was very enthusiastic. After the meal, which thoroughly disgusted Draco due to Crabbe's awful table manners, Draco hurried over to talk to Snape, who smiled politely at him. However, the potions master was rather reserved compared to other years Draco remembered.

"Well, perhaps now you should go talk to Crabbe," Snape told Draco after a few minutes, and Draco pulled a face.

"Why?" he sighed.

"I think that's what your father wants. He was kind enough to give you lots of presents, now you should go talk to Crabbe so that he feels like it was worth it giving you all those gifts."

"But I want to talk to you!" Draco wailed softly, and Snape's face almost lit up. Nevertheless, he shook his head.

"We've had a good talk, now Crabbe deserves some of your attention. Good night Draco," Snape almost smiled, and Draco nodded goodnight to the professor. Regrettably, he turned to where Crabbe was playing with one of the toys Draco had received for Christmas, Herculen watching Vincent like a hawk lest he break Draco's present.

"Hello," Draco attempted a smile, and Crabbe grinned up at him. "I'm supposed to play with you now."

"Awesome!" Crabbe declared.

_'He's such an idiot,' _Draco thought to himself before he sat down next to the plump boy, and the two became involved in a game that involved some strange curse Crabbe had heard his father talking about. Herculen appeared surprised that Crabbe had heard of the curse at his young age, but he didn't interrupt the playing. Finally the night was over, and it was time for the Crabbes to return home.

"Bye, Malfoy!" Crabbe declared, to which Draco nodded once.

"Have fun?" Herculen asked with a grin. Draco glared at him, and Herculen laughed good naturedly. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

That night, Draco dreamed about the presents his father had gifted him. For the first time, Draco was sure that this was how he was supposed to feel after Christmas was over, and his arm seemed to ache less each minute. After all, how could he feel bad when his father finally cared about him? Finally, his father cared, and it made Draco feel warm inside._ His father cared!_

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><p>Herculen went back to school after a week of reading to Draco, wizard's chess, and days spent bringing toys to the bed ridden brother. When Herculen left, Draco was afraid that he'd be horribly lonely again, but his father surprised him by checking in on him frequently. His mother was also constantly hanging around the room, but she was rather boring so Draco didn't really talk to her that much.<p>

Sometimes, when Lucius went to the ministry, Dobby came in and spoke to Draco, which made the blonde quite happy. For a while, Dobby had been avoiding Draco like the plague, and Draco was happy to have his old playmate back. Dobby was still careful to never be discovered by Lucius, but at least he talked to Draco again. He also brought Draco whichever toy he wanted, and would tentatively play with the blonde.

Eventually, Draco's arm was healed, allowing him to get up and run around again without fear of jarring it. For some reason, however, the day after it healed all of the toys disappeared from Draco's bedroom. When he asked his father about it, Lucius told him it was time he got back to his studies. Apparently the toys would come back when Crabbe and Goyle visited. Disappointed, Draco returned to studying with his tutor, however he was rather happy to finally be able to play with the potions set from Snape. He could also finally write to Snape again since his right arm was mobile, and life basically returned to normal.

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><p>By the time summer rolled around, Draco couldn't wait to see his brother again; these school years were far too long as far as Draco was concerned. A few days after Herculen came home, the brothers celebrated their birthday with the Minister of Magic at a fancy restaurant near the ministry. Herculen told Draco that the muggle world was very close; however Draco was careful not to take any interest in it lest he anger his father in front of the Minister of Magic.<p>

After dinner, the group traveled back to the manor where they talked for far too long, at least in Draco's mind. Finally he and Herculen were excused to go play, however Herculen didn't want to play. Instead Herculen told Draco about his days at Hogwarts.

"I also finally got around to memorizing the school's song!" Herculen declared. "Want to hear?"

Without waiting for a reply, Herculen enthusiastically sang the school song and helped Draco to learn the first few lines.

"Most everyone is terrible at singing it," Herculen told his brother. "However, I enjoy it! It's great, isn't it?"

Draco shrugged, a smile upon his face simply because his brother seemed to enjoy singing the song so much.

That night, the Hogwarts's school anthem was stuck in his head, his brother's enthusiastic voice echoing through Draco's dreams.

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><p>In the morning, Lucius took his sons to Diagon Alley. It was fairly empty considering most of the wizards had gotten their shopping done the moment their children had come home from Hogwarts rather than waiting a few days. Lucius led his children to the broom shop where he told Herculen to chose a broom.<p>

"I have business to attend to, so I trust you can take care of your brother until I return?" Lucius turned to Heruclen, who nodded. Then Lucius disappeared into the shadows leaving his sons alone in the broom shop.

"Wow, I've never been anywhere without mother or father before!" Draco declared, feeling a rush of freedom.

"It is rather nice, however let's keep this between us. I don't think mother would approve," Herculen told his little brother before they wandered deeper into the store.

"I like the brooms on the back wall. Some of their fastest are there. Did you know they're coming out with a new Nimbus? I want to get that when it comes out!"Herculen declared. However suddenly he jumped backwards when a hunched old woman looking at a cheap broom appeared in their path. She glanced at the boys with a warty face, and Herculen sneered.

"I didn't know they let your type in here," his smile was malicious. "Don't you belong in Knockturn Alley? Come on, move it so we can get to the brooms that can actually do things unlike these worthless ones your pursuing."

The old woman said nothing, however she abruptly leaped forward and grabbed Herculen's arm, her long nails creating halfmoons in his skin her grip was so tight.

"Hey, let me go!" he snarled, trying to pull away, yet the old woman was much stronger than she looked. Her grin revealed her yellowed, slanted teeth, and Herculen again tried to recoil to no avail. His breath was now coming in short, frightened huffs, and he swallowed before glaring at the woman again. "Let go of me you old hag!"

"Don't insult people who you don't know the power of," her croaking voice had a singsong quality to it. "You never know what might happen! Your dear little brother might end up on the wrong side of an attack, or perhaps you'll be the one loosing blood. Watch out, Herculen Malfoy, or perhaps its your dear little Draco you should be looking out for. Watch his back!" With that the woman let out a wild cackle and released Herculen from her iron grip. In seconds she'd apparated, and Herculen rushed to his shocked brother's side. He glanced around protectively, but when nothing jumped out at them, he let out a long breath and tried to slow down his pounding heart.

"Crazy old hag," he muttered. "Come on, lets wait for father at the front of the store. There's some neat new brooms up there too."

When Lucius returned, he asked how it went.

"Oh, swimmingly," Herculen lied easily. "I think I'll take this broom."

After that, they went to lunch and then came back the manor with a brand new broomstick for Herculen.

"You'll get one when you go to Hogwarts, I'm sure," Herculen told his brother. "For now, you can learn better how to fly my old broom! This time I'll come up with you so there are no more accidents."

True to his word, Herculen spent the better part of the summer teaching Draco how to fly a broomstick in all directions, and even how to perform stunts like barrel rolls and loop-the-loop.

"You'll be so ready for Hogwarts!" Herculen declared. "It's probably time I teach you the rules of Quidditch too!"

Nothing ever came of the old woman's threat, and the brothers didn't talk about the incident, so it faded to the back of their minds. Quidditch practice was far more important than something said by an old woman who probably didn't know which way was up, Herculen told himself.

When the summer came to an end, Draco was eternally sad to see his brother go back to Hogwarts; however he'd learned lots about broom sticks, Quidditch and Hogwarts in general. It was now only a year before Draco would be at the school, and he definitely felt ready.

When he went to see his brother off at the train station, Draco wanted to jump on the train right then, however he still had one more year to wait. Instead he stayed patiently on the platform with his mother and father, waving goodbye to his brother, a smile on his face.

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><p><strong>AU: <strong>_I realize this chapter wasn't particularly exciting, but I wanted to show how the family dynamic is changing. Don't worry, either the next chapter or the chapter after that will be plenty exciting and angsty… Review please!_


	8. Chapter 8

**AU:** _Thank you to_** kenziescott54, Durin'sFolk, standasawitness, and The Darkest wizard**_ for your reviews! They make me so happy :)_

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><p>"It's time for our lessons, Draco."<p>

Draco glanced up as his father entered the library. This new year was entirely different than any year Draco had experienced before. Herculen's departure for Hogwarts had singled the beginning of Draco's lesson, as always. However, in the past, lessons had consisted of potions, a little about defense against the dark arts, ancient runes, and wizarding history.

All of these subjects had been continued by his aging tutor, however Lucius had stepped in for a new kind of teaching. It wasn't the kind that would be taught in school, Lucius had explained to his son, instead these lessons taught Draco how to act properly.

When the lessons had first began, they'd seemed rather silly to Draco. He'd been taught more deeply about pureblood history and about how a pureblood was meant to act in front of others. Draco knew these lessons were important so he listened carefully in order to please his father.

"Of course, you already demonstrated your aptitude for that in France a few summers ago," Lucius had told his son, who shrugged. So, that was how he was expected to act at school? Well, at least he'd be getting his way all the time. Getting his way couldn't be a bad thing.

Then the lessons had moved on, surprising Draco with unusual concepts like how to dress properly, how to eat properly (he must never eat in the same fashion as Crabbe) and even the correct expressions to place on ones face at various times. Draco noticed his father was particularly adept at looking down his nose at people.

"Did you teach Herculen all of this?" Draco had asked. His father's answer was: Of course! What a silly question, Draco.

They then moved on to talk about someone who Draco was commanded to call The Dark Lord. The Dark Lord, Draco learned, was a very powerful wizard who was going to save the wizarding world from invading mudbloods, however the Ministry of Magic had interrupted The Dark Lord's task.

"Why did the Ministry want to stop The Dark Lord if he had such good intentions?" Draco wanted to know, and Lucius had smiled.

"They didn't agree with him. They had their own ideas about how to control our world, and unfortunately they had enough power to repress our revolt."

"How?" Draco wanted to know.

"We'll get to that in a later lesson," Lucius had promised.

"Today," Lucius told his son as he entered. "We will be learning about a curse that you must never mention at school. It's called Avada Kedavra."

"I've heard of that," Draco rolled his eyes. "It's from a game."

"Indeed, I believe Herculen did play Avada Kedavra with you as a game; however it is also a curse used to kill other wizards."

"Yeah, if you get hit you die, Herculen said so," Draco nodded.

"The real curse is no game, Draco. You must never talk so lightly about this curse when you're at Hogwarts. This curse is only to be used as a last resort as you could get sent to Azkaban."

"What's that?" Draco asked.

"It's a nasty prison only fit for the likes of idiotic mudbloods and blood traitors. You mustn't cast this curse lightly. Here, I have a book about it."

Lucius then went about showing the book to his son. Once he was finished, he asked Draco if he had any further questions.

"No father," Draco shook his head. "Except, I guess I do have one. Why don't all the purebloods just cast this curse on the, the idi... the idi-o-tic mudbloods to get rid of them if the mudbloods are so dumb and evil? You said getting rid of the mudbloods would save pureblood culture"

"Like I said, the purebloods would get sent to Azkaban for mistreating muggles."

"But you said to be mean to dumb muggles otherwise it isn't proper," Draco argued, confused by his father's logic.

"You must be verbally abusive, but never hex a muggle at school or you will find yourself on the wrong end of many problems. Remember, these lessons are to remain a secret to just us two or daddy could get into trouble!"

Draco had a hard time digesting the fact his father had just referred to himself as 'daddy', and had a harder time refraining from rubbing his aching cheek after his father bent down and pinched it. However, Lucius ignored Draco's look of discomfort and continued speaking.

"Now," he said. "Tomorrow you're going to have a visitor. I have business with an old friend of mine, a Mr Nott, and his son Theodore will be coming to visit. Theodore will be joining you at Hogwarts, and I thought it was time you got acquainted. Nott is different than Crabbe and Goyle, as you'll soon find out. Don't order him around, he's a little sensitive."

"I won't, father," Draco promised.

"Good, now go get washed up, we'll be attending lunch in approximately twenty minutes."

Draco hurried off, memorising the rules his father had told him today. He had been told to keep these lessons a secret from even mother, but he had a feeling his mother knew they were occurring. After all, Draco's mother had talked about a boy named Potter who had something to do with The Dark Lord, and she'd never mentioned Potter before. His father had said something about 'the Potter boy' and how he was banned from the wizarding world due to being a dark and powerful wizard. Draco didn't know if the Potter boy had anything to do with The Dark Lord's downfall, but the way his father talked about the potentially powerful dark wizard, Draco didn't think so.

"I wonder what his first name is?" Draco wondered as he got ready for lunch. "Maybe I'll have to find out!"

After getting dressed in his luncheon clothing, Draco had a visit from Dobby who told him to go down to the dining room. Draco hesitated, however, and he asked Dobby to wait a moment.

"Have you ever heard of anyone named Potter?" Draco asked curiously. "I've heard my father talking about him."

"Does Master Draco mean Harry Potter?" Dobby asked, and Draco shrugged. "Dobby knows that Harry Potter changeded the wizarding world forever! He is very famous! Dobby thinks Harry Potter is Master Draco's age. Harry Potter isn't in the wizarding world right now though, Dobby doesn't think."

Draco nodded and marched down to lunch, mulling this information over in his head.

At lunch, Draco demonstrated his new pureblood eating techniques, which made his mother smile proudly. A smile seemed to twitch at Lucius's lips, however he was careful to sternly repremand Draco when he used the wrong fork to eat salad.

* * *

><p>The next day, Dobby helped Draco chose something nice to wear to meet Nott. (Draco assumed he'd be calling Theodore by his last name since that's what Crabbe and Goyle preferred. Then again, supposedly this boy wasn't like Crabbe and Goyle.)<p>

At precisely 12:58, Draco stood downstairs next to his father in the front hall, silently waiting for Nott's arrival. Draco tried to puff his chest out like he'd seen Herculen do before, however Lucius only lifted an eyebrow at him before turning to look at the fireplace once again. Deciding against puffing his chest out, Draco let out a sigh.

Suddenly the fireplace roared to life and out stepped a thin, lanky boy who glanced around himself silently.

"Welcome, Theodore," Lucius inclined his head at the child, who returned the gesture but said nothing. Moments later, a man who was clearly Theodore's father stepped out of the floo, and he greeted Lucius warmly.

"Now, run along and play Draco. Remember the rules!" Lucius smiled warmly at his son, yet a shiver ran up Draco's spine. There was nothing real about that smile, nothing truly warm. Instead that smile made Draco want to hide beneath his bed and clutch Dobby for comfort. Still, Draco nodded at Theodore Nott and told him to follow.

Walking up the stairs to Draco's bedroom, Nott said nothing, and when Draco opened his door to reveal mountains of toys, Nott only frowned and then went to sit on a chair.

"So, you can play with the toys," Draco told Nott, confused by this boy's behavior, however Nott only shrugged.

"Toys are for kids," he told Draco dismissively, who frowned.

'_We are kids_,' danced across Draco's tongue, however he remained silent and sat upon the bed, watching Nott carefully. When niether boy said anything for about a minute, Draco spoke again.

"So," he said. "What do you spend your time with if you don't play with toys, Nott?"

"Call me Theo," Nott frowned. "And I spend quite a bit of time studying. I enjoy potions, wizarding history, and occasionally I find it fun to learn about dark arts, however that subject is a bit touchy."

"Oh," Draco replied. "I see."

"Do you play with toys a lot?" Theo asked.

"Uh, no not really. You're right, toys are rather childish. I study all the time. I like potions too. My father is good friends with the potions teacher at Hogwarts, so he teaches me potions that only older kids are supposed to know!" Draco bragged. "I'm already learning out of an advanced potions book. My father is also helping me to learn wizard history, as well as dark arts!"

"Oh really?" Nott raised his eyebrows. "That's good of your father to get Professor Snape to help you out."

"Do you Snape?" Draco asked, a little disappointed that he wasn't the only child with access to the potions master.

"Oh course, he came to visit just a week or two ago because my father wanted to get an ingredient from him, and sometimes he obliges to give my father unique ingredients."

"Oh, well he's my godfather!" Draco pronounced.

"That's nice," Theo nodded.

"Do you know what spell I just learned about?" Draco asked, some internal need to impress this cold, superior boy taking over Draco's mind.

"How could I know that?" Theo raised an eyebrow.

"I learned about Avada Kedavra," Draco proclaimed, and the boy's eyes widened. Mistaking the reaction for interest, Draco continued. "It's the killing curse, you ever hear of it? Father says to take it seriously."

"As it should be," Theo snapped, his eyes dark. "Don't talk about that curse, it's unforgivable."

Feeling chastened, Draco prepared to retaliate, however Theo continued quickly.

"Look, I just don't want to talk about that curse, okay? How about we talk about potions, since we both like that?"

The rest of the day was spent talking about potions, and when it came time for Theo to leave, Draco felt highly disappointed.

"See you soon Theo!" Draco told the other boy as Theo prepared to leave. Theo simply nodded back at Draco, his gaze dignified, and Draco suddenly felt sure that this boy would be his friend.

Theo turned and walked down the hallway without a second glance toward Draco, however a satisfied smile sat upon Draco's face. Theo was a proper pureblood, no doubt about that. Theo was cool, and Draco would see to it that they were friends at school.

* * *

><p>Soon winter break arrived, and Draco was endlessly excited to tell Herculen about the lessons with his father. No longer could Lucius claim that Draco wasn't a true pureblood, after all he was making sure that his son was perfect, just like Herculen! Of course, Lucius still spent half of the lessons smirking at Draco's 'silly questions', but as far as Draco was concerned, that's how a proper pureblood's supposed to act.<p>

'_If one doesn't spend half the time smirking at others, what kind of a dumb pureblood are you?_' Draco asked himself. Obviously not a very good one, after all Lucius was the epitome of a proper pureblood, and the majority of his interactions during the lessons were smug and superior.

On one freezing December day, finally Draco found himself downstairs and waiting with his mother by the door. Snow flurries made the windows impossible to see out of, and the wind howled loudly, making some internal part of Draco want to hide in his mother's arms, however he stood straight and tall and showed no signs of fear, except for a slight wince now and again. He was highly disappointed by the storm because, according to a weather telling spell he'd cast, the snow was supposed to be light, not a blizzard.

Admittedly, Narcissa looked a bit worried as well, her eyes darting from window to window. Finally she spoke up, her clear voice making Draco's fears disperse a tiny bit.

"It's quite a blizzard," she remarked. "I do hope your father and brother are alright out in the storm! Draco, are you alright? I see you shivering, you may go get another coat if you'd like. When your father returns, I'm sure he'll warm the manor, but I'd rather wait until he's back."

"I don't need a coat, mother," Draco shook his head, yet still he winced when a particularly bad gust of wind howled outside.

Narcissa's eyes winded in understanding, and briefly she wrapped her arms around Draco.

"Don't worry, the wind can't come inside, nor can the blizzard. I'm sure your father knows exactly how to take care of Herculen, alright Draco?"

Draco nodded, snuggling into his mother's warm, safe embrace, his fear disappearing completely. It was unusual for her to show such outward compassion, and suddenly Draco found that he'd never felt safer than this time when Narcissa gave him a small hug before turning to the door.

"Straighten your collar," she told him suddenly, and he obliged just before the door slammed open and Luicus marched in with Herculen right behind him. Once they were inside, the door slammed shut against the blizzard, Lucius immediately placing a warming spell on both the manor and on the two of them.

"If everything alright?" Narcissa asked Lucius as she stepped forward to hug Herculen. Lucius nodded once, and then turned to glare at Draco.

"Your weather telling spell was completely off," he snapped. "I thought you said there'd be a light snow today. This is the last time I trust you to tell me how to get home. Once out in the storm, we couldn't aparate! Do you realize how dangerous it is being out in this kind of blizzard?"

"I'm sorry father," Draco mumbled, and Lucius sighed dramatically.

"As you should be," Lucius told Draco. "And don't mumble."

"I'm sorry father," Draco said louder, and Lucius nodded.

"Hello, dear little brother!" Herculen suddenly had his arms around Draco, who smiled happily.

"Hello," Draco replied. "How was Hogwarts?"

"Oh, simply wonderful, as always. Not much changes at that old place."

Lucius smiled for a moment as the son's interactions, then he stomped off, apparently to deal with something about the storm.

"Why don't you go unpack and tell Draco all about it?" Narcissa suggested, and Herculen shrugged flippantly.

"Come, Draco," he told his little brother, then he marched up the stairs softly singing in a beautiful, clear baritone: HogwartsHogwarts Hoggy Warty Hogwarts Teach us something please. Whether we be old and bald or young with scabby knees. Our heads could do with filling, with some interesting stuff."

"Wow, he's happy," Draco remarked, and Narcissa nodded.

"He'll tell you about what if you follow him," Narcissa smiled at her son, who began to run up the stairs before she gently reminded him to walk.

After Draco finished walking up the stairs, he hurried to Herculen's room where found his brother starring in his mirror, combing his hair with a dreamy expression on his face.

"You're happy," Draco remarked again, and Herculen smiled slightly,

"Close the door, I don't want father to hear. Now, Draco, guess what happened to me?"

"How could I know that?" Draco asked, and tried to copy Theo's eyebrow raise, however he could see in the mirror that he'd failed terribly.

"I suppose you couldn't know," Herculen shrugged. "So I'll tell you. Have you ever heard of a kiss?"

"A what?" Draco asked, confused.

"A kiss! It's like this," Herculen puckered his lips and threw kisses about the room. To this, Draco's eyes widened. He may have seen someone doing a kiss in Diagone Alley, but he might be wrong.

"Anyway," Herculen continued. "You kiss someone like a girlfriend. Father has probably kissed mother. Anyway, I had my first kiss, right before it was time to go to the train!"

"With who, the girl who can't speak English?" Draco wanted to know.

"Oh no no, she's old news. I dumped her when she started wanting to spend all the time with Madam Sprout learning Hufflepuff things; it was awful. No, this was a Slytherin girl, the only kind worth anything, Draco. She's certainly not the brightest in the bunch, but she's wonderful!"

"She seems like it," Draco nodded.

Herculen turned back to his mirror, finishing combing his hair and running his fingers through it several times. It was then that Draco noticed that much less hair gel was being used in Herculen's hair, and Herculen nodded.

"Yes, I decided to tone it down for a few days. I still use the gel, and I recommend it to you, Draco! It's time to do something useful with those pale locks of yours."

Herculen tossed the gel in Draco's direction, and Draco caught it clumsily.

"There, keep it for all I care. I have plenty more."

"What else is new at Hogwarts?" Draco asked, pocketing the gel.

Herculen's eyes suddenly grew wild, and he whispered the next sentence.

"Guess what class I'm taking?" his voice was excited and rebellious.

"What?" Draco asked.

"Mudblood studies!'

"What, that's a class?" Draco was confused.

"Well, they call it Muggle Studies', but who needs to be so precise."

"Why are you taking that? Won't father find out?"

"No, he won't find out, no worries there. And I'm taking it just for the comic relief of course, little brother! Did you know that even some mudbloods screw up in mudblood studies? It's hilarious! Besides, every day I get to go back to the Slytherin common room and tell them about the stupid things mudbloods have to do in place of magic. Did you know they have these things called vacuum cleaners which they have to push manually around the house in order to make dust go away? It's marvelously funny! Besides, the teacher is actually quite nice. He's a little dull sometimes, but other times he's rather exciting. Also a lady came to visit and help teach lessons a couple time because she might take over the position in a few years. Her name's Burbage. If you ever get a chance to meet her, you might like her. Of course her charming personality is a little overshadowed by her love for mudbloods, however she really is quite alright. She caught me kissing my Slytherin girl, and didn't even turn us in. Besides that, she's rather understanding about things. The school'll lucky when she's teaching. So Draco, anything vaguely interesting happening at home?"

"Well, father is giving me lessons about pureblood history," Draco told his brother, who nodded.

"Of course, he said you'd get the lessons. You probably need them more than I do! How're they going, you learn any unforgivables yet?"

"Just the killing one, but I'm not supposed to talk about it."

"Of course not," Herculen shook his head. "Imperius is also quite handy, you'll find out."

"I also met a boy named Nott who's going to be my friend at Hogwarts!"

"Theo Nott? Yes, he's a smart one. If you can get him as your friend, you'll be well off. Might be tricky, he's a bit of a loner. Well, I suppose it's almost time for dinner. Come Draco, it's time I tell father all about my adventures at Hogwarts!"

Draco followed his brother down the stairs, wondering just which adventures Lucius would be hearing about, and which would be kept a secret.

* * *

><p>After dinner, Draco was sent to his room by his father so that Herculen and Lucius could have a father-son time talking by the fireside. Disappointed, Draco wandered up to his room. He wasn't tired, so instead he rearranged his desk. Suddenly his eyes fell upon his old potions book from Snape, and Draco's eyes lit up. He hadn't talked to Snape in months, perhaps now he could ask if Snape would be coming for Christmas. Of course, Snape wasn't a pureblood, but some little part of Draco didn't care, and he pulled out a pen to write '<em>hello'<em>.

'_Hello_,' Snape wrote back. 'How are you, Draco?'

_'__I'm alright. Are you coming for Christmas this year?'_

There was a very long pause when nothing was written, then finally Snape replied.

_'__I don't know.'_

_'__Why don't you know?'_

_'__Your father didn't say anything to me. Would you like me to come, Draco?'_

_'__Of course!'_

_'__Well, you may ask your father about the idea.'_

_'__How are you, Professor Snape?'_

_There was another long pause._

_'__I'm feeling adequately.'_

_'__That's good._'

Draco spent a long time writing Snape, until Snape finally told him to go to bed. Draco obliged, happy dreams of potions and Christmas dancing through his head. The next day when Draco asked if Snape could come to Christmas, Lucius seemed genuinely shocked. However, Lucius said it didn't matter what happened with Snape as this year they planned on having the Crabbes and Notts come visit.

"If you wish to add Professor Snape to the list, so be it," Draco was told, and so Draco ran upstairs to inform his godfather.

'_That's nice_,' was Snape's only reply to the happy news, however Draco was sure that Professor Snape was happy, deep down.

* * *

><p><strong>AU: <strong>_Okay, so not the angsty chapter after all. Sorry about that (or not, idk if you wanted that yet). It's coming up soon, but I hope you enjoyed this little look into the family life of the boys as they grow older. What's your new opinion of Herculen? What do you think Lucius really thinks of Draco? Please review and tell me your thoughts!_


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you to **standasawitness, The Darkest wizard,** and** kenziescott54 **for reviews. There weren't very many, however they were all long, which is really nice because I like to see what people about thinking about my story.

**AU: **_This chapter was actually incredibly hard to write, which might tell you a thing or two about what's due to happen at this point in the story. It's pretty much all angst from here. Best of luck, readers. (There's not too much angst in this chapter; this chapter is more about shock than angst)_

* * *

><p>That Christmas, Herculen spent the majority of his time with Snape. Draco was told by his father to spend time with Crabbe and Theo, and so Draco begrudgingly ignored Snape and focussed his attention on Crabbe, who was thrilled. Theo, on the other hand, pretty much ignored both Draco and Crabbe. This annoyed Draco to no end, considering he wanted to be Theo's friend and couldn't care less about Crabbe, however by the end of the night, both boys had given him rather nice presents, and Theo had told Draco that he'd be visiting in the near future. Draco was very glad, and told Theo so.<p>

"I hope we'll be friends at Hogwarts," Draco told Theo honestly. Theo merely raised an eyebrow, before he followed his father to the floo and disappeared.

"Bye Malfoy!" Crabbe called over to Draco, and then he too disappeared into the floo. Draco simply frowned after him, glad that he was gone.

Draco then wandered toward Snape and Herculen, who were seated by the fireside having a nice chat over warm tea. Herculen was laughing softly when Draco approached, seating himself on the couch.

"Hello little brother," Herculen smiled at Draco. "Guess what I found out? You'll be coming to stay at Hogwarts for a few days with Snape and I at the end of this school year because mother and father have to go on an important trip to Bulgaria!"

"Really?" Draco's eyes widened. "I get to go be a Hogwarts?"

"Only for a few days," Snape clarified. "And one of those days I'll be busy, so your father is coming up with plans of who will be caring for you. I believe he wants the headmaster to do it."

"Who's the headmaster?" Draco asked, and Herculen laughed lightly.

"Why, Dumbledore of course! You know that, Draco."

Draco didn't know that, however he simply nodded, happy to please his brother.

"Well," Snape stood up. "It's getting late, so I should be going. Merry Christmas Draco, here is your gift."

Snape stood, handing Draco a small green present, and then he left the brothers by the fireside.

"It'll be fun showing you Hogwarts. You'll be there next year, after all, you're lucky to get to see it early. Maybe I can even convince Professor Snape to allow you to practice riding your broom in the stadium! Oh, I just can't wait; it'll be too too fun."

Narcissa walked by a few minutes later to check on the boys, and she reminded them about their bedtime before wishing them both a very merry christmas. She then sat in an armchair, just as Lucius too came by to wish both his sons a goodnight. He patted both Herculen and Draco on the head, before he settled in the armchair across from his wife and closed his eyes peacefully.

The brothers gazed at the fire, falling into a comradery silence. Draco tore open his present to find a golden dragon inside. Under it was an instruction sheet that said that the dragon would breathe fire on command and was to be used to light a fire under a caldron. Draco gently stroked the dragon statue, and it seemed to almost purr. Gently, Draco also closed his eyes and allowed himself to be warmed by the flickering fire, his brother beside him. Security suddenly flooded Draco's veins because here he was in his manor, surrounded by family, and for the first Christmas he truly felt like he truly belonged.

* * *

><p>The new year seemed to flash by. Draco counted the days until he would get to go to Hogwarts, his calendar containing more Xs than one could count. Lucius constantly reminded him that this was a privilege offered to very few and that Draco must take advantage of it.<p>

"The only reason you get this privilege is because of a very important meeting in Bulgaria that your mother and I must attend, and we don't feel comfortable leaving you and your brother in the hands of house elves for several days."

Draco's pureblood training sessions became longer and more intense. Lucius constantly quizzed Draco on how to act and what to say. He also took his son out broom riding, making sure Draco wouldn't lose control again.

Theo came to visit regularly, his times with Draco consisting mostly of potion leaning. Draco was glad to have a friend that was just as smart and pure-blooded as him, and he frequently offered to do things for Theo, after all anything was worth being this boy's friend.

At long last, Draco packed his bags and was ready to go to Hogwarts. His mother hugged him goodbye, and Draco almost walked out the door, when Lucius caught him by the arm and shook his head.

Pulling Draco off to the side, Lucius knelt down so that he was the same height as his son. Then, taking a deep breath, Lucius began to talk.

"Now," Lucius commanded, "Don't make trouble for Severus, and stick close to your brother. Your mother and I will collect you in three days time. On the second day, Snape is very busy, so I have arranged for you to be taken care of by Headmaster Dumbledore. This is a grand opportunity for you to see the school and explore. Don't waste this chance. Now, we will aparate. Keep in mind that, in general, no one can aparate to or from Hogwarts. They are making a special exception today for us, but don't try it when you go to school here. Come."

Taking his son's hand, Lucius expertly aparated them, and then Draco's mouth dropped. Oh, he had heard all about Hogwarts from his brother of course, but now he stood in front of the gigantic castle, and he could scarcely suck in a breath.

"It's beautiful," he murmured.

"Well, I wouldn't say that. It's hardly as beautiful as the private schools, however you shall be attending here nevertheless."

Draco and his father stood for several more moments, before his gaze traveled to other scenery around him. Off in one direction stretched a shimmering lake, and in the other direction was a foreboding expanse of trees.

"What's that?" Draco asked, pointing, and a frown suddenly took over Lucius's face.

"That, Draco, is the Forbidden Forest. It's very dangerous; don't even think about going in there."

"Why?"

"Why?" Lucius spat. "Why do you think? Because it's dangerous, you could get hurt, and because I said so. Come," Lucius yanked his son's hand and Draco scurried to follow his father, lest his arm be yanked out of its socket.

Father and son marched toward the castle, and then to the large closed doors. After a moment, Lucius rapped on them impatiently. Tapping his foot, he waited until they were pulled upon by a hunched, dirty little man whose eyes widened.

"Mr Malfoy! Your son and Professor Snape are expecting you-"

"Yes yes, lead me to them," Lucius interrupted, shaking his black gloved hand impatiently in the air, and the hunched man quickly lead the way down a wooded hall. Lucius's walking cane made soft taps against the wooden floor, but besides their soft footstep, there were no other sounds that Draco could hear.

They hadn't gotten far when a grey haired man stopped them in their tracks, motioning for the group to stop.

"Albus Dumbledore," the man nodded at the Malfoy's and their guide.

"I know who you are," Lucius inclined his head slightly.

"Yes, well your son may not. Welcome to Hogwarts, Draco," the man nodded at the small blonde, whose eyes traveled to his father's face before silently nodding back. "Now, these are unusual circumstances, and so I am allowing your children to remain here for the allotted time as long as Professor Snape cares for them. And, of course, I will be caring for them the day that Snape must attend some mandatory meetings. I do hope a habit won't be made of this because Professor Snape does have a summer to be getting to."

"I don't believe _he _minds," Lucius replied shortly. "Now, if we may be on our way, I shall get out of your hair."

"Yes of course. Filch, lead then straight to the Slytherin common room. Your son is there, waiting. I'm sure he's very anxious to see his father again," Dumbledore smiled.

"Good. He should be. Come, Draco."

Draco was then yanked away, glancing back to see Dumbledore give him a smile and a wink before turning and walking his own way.

* * *

><p>The group walked down flights of stairs until they arrived in what seemed to be the cellar. Snape was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and he lead the group to a room that reminded Draco vaguely of his father's private sitting room at home. Seated upon a coach was Herculen, and he smiled over at his father and brother.<p>

"Hello," he declared, standing. "Glad you've made it. What do you think, father? Rather like you remember it?"

Lucius surveyed the room, his eyes taking in each and every nook and cranny. A tiny smile graced his lips, and he nodded.

"It's good to be back," he murmured. After a moment, however, he snapped back into reality and turned to Snape with a brief nod.

"I trust you can care for the boys, except for the day when you're busy?" he asked Snape, who nodded.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry that I cannot be with them that day as well, however there is nothing I can do to change it,"

"I understand," Lucius shook his head. "Don't worry yourself about it, old friend. Narcissa and I will collect the boys in three days. I don't know what time we'll be here, but hopefully before nightfall."

Draco left his father to talk to Snape, while he approached his brother, his eyes traveling the room.

"This will be your common room next year, I'm sure," Herculen told his brother. "We'll be here together. Won't it be fun? It's absolutely thrilling that it's almost your time to be attending school here. Come on, let me show you around the dungeons."

"The dungeons?" Draco asked.

"Yes, Slytherin is in the dungeons, Gryffindor is in the tower, Ravenclaw is in another tower, and I'm honestly not quite sure where Hufflepuff is, though I've heard it's underground or something. We'll explore later, Snape says he'll take us all over, and I want to show you some things too. Snape says we may even get to ride our brooms a bit, but not too high."

Eventually Lucius seemed to grow tired of talking to Snape, and so he told both of his sons goodbye and then left the common room.

"So," Snape turned to the boys, his face as expressionless as ever. "What do you propose we do today and tomorrow?"

"Well, thinking about the time, perhaps we should explore tomorrow and ride brooms today?" Herculen suggested, and Snape shrugged.

"Remember," he cautioned. "You are not to ride your brooms very high, as I will not be going up with you, and I won't have you getting hurt under my watch."

"Don't worry," Herculen shrugged. "Come on Draco! Put your bags in that room, and then get a broomstick. We're going flying!"

Draco did as he was told, and the rest of the day was spent flying before it grew dark and the brothers went inside to eat. Finally, the brothers went to bed in the Slytherin boy's dormitory, though they spent much of the night whispering to each other.

The next day when Draco woke up, he was confused about his location, however he quickly remembered what was planned for the day, and he felt a thrill of excitement. He lept from bed to go find Herculen so they could start exploring.

Snape trailed after Herculen and Draco all day as Herculen showed his brother the portraits and moving staircases. They ate lunch and dinner in the great hall, and each time they saw another professor that hadn't yet left, Herculen greeted him or her warmly. By the end of the day, Draco's legs ached from running up and down the stairs, however he also wore an incredibly happy smile.

"Did you have a good time?" Snape asked him when he saw the look on Draco's face, and Draco nodded enthusiastically. Snape almost smiled, and then he disappeared into his private potions room.

Draco and Herculen then played wizards' chess until late when Snape emerged from the potions room to tell them to go to bed, at which point Draco made himself comfortable in a soft, green bed, eventually drifting to sleep.

* * *

><p>The second day, Draco awoke remembering where he was, and he shivered slightly under his covers. Noticing that his brother was already awake and out of the room, Draco dressed and hurried out to the common room. Herculen was helping Snape to rearrange a bookshelf, and he smiled when Draco entered the room.<p>

"Here he is now," Herculen told the dark haired man. "So, Draco, since we already explored the castle yesterday, Professor Snape said he'd set us up with some potions to try! You interested?"

"Of course," Draco nodded vigorously.

"Additionally, your father arranged to have Headmaster Dumbledore take care you boys, so don't even try to sneak off. Promise me you'll stay right here and work on potions," Snape's gaze leveled with the two boys.

"Oh we give you our word, don't we Draco?" Herculen nodded seriously, and Draco followed suit.

"Good, I'll return this afternoon."

Then, with a sweep of his bat black robes, Snape was gone, replaced by the elderly, white haired headmaster who stepped through the doorway with a smile.

"Hello boys," he smiled at the two Malfoys. "Professor Snape tells me that you both love potions. I will just sit right over here, please let me know if you need anything. I must say, I did enjoy brewing some rather interesting potions back when I was still a professor."

"Oh we will," Herculen promised with a smile.

"Well, let's get started!" Draco declared, eager to begin, and Herculen went about finding a potion that appeared interesting, and the two brothers created a sleeping draught while Dumbledor read a book in the corner.

When the potion was complete, Draco wanted to start brewing a hair-raising potion, however Herculen said he wanted to make tea first.

"Would you like any tea, Headmaster?" Herculen asked, and Dumbledore hesitated before saying a 'little tea might be rather nice'.

Herculen approached a counter and hurried to make tea. Once it was hot he brought two cups over for himself and Dumbledore.

"Here you go, sir," Herculen handed the headmaster a cup, and immediately a frown lined the old man's face.

"Are you sure this is my cup of tea?" Dumbledore looked hard at Herculen, his eyes seeming to pierce the boy, however Herculen didn't faulter.

"Yes, it's the one I made for you."

Drumbledore stared at Herculen for a moment more, and then he frowned before glancing at the closed door to the potions room.

"Alright," he said slowly. "However I trust you will continue working diligently on your potions, young man."

Herculen smiled and nodded, however Dumbledore continued to stare at him, until he shifted uneasily and hurried to retreat to the table where he sat beside his brother.

A few moments later, Dumbledore took a tiny sip of tea before placing it aside, and in a few moments he was sleeping soundly.

"Well, let's get started!" Draco declared, eager to begin, however his brother shifted his weight and glanced at the door cautiously. "What is it?"

"You know, this is a second year potions book," Herculen complained.

"Well, that's okay. I only know one third year potion anyway, and I hardly even know any second year potions!" The 10 year old told his older brother. However, Herculen's eyes were bored and he fairly glared at the potions book.

"You know what would be fun," Herculen told his little brother queitly. "Would be to do some more exploring!"

"Well, we explored the whole castle yesterday," Draco trailed off, confused by the wild glint in his brother's eyes.

"Oh we did," Herculen nodded. "However, we didn't explore outside of the the castle."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked.

"You know, I've always wanted to explore down around the lake, say. And I have hardly ever gone near the forest."

"But we're supposed to stay in here and make potions!"

"Oh pishposh, Draco. That's no problem," Herculen laughed out loud. "I know plenty of spells that would solve that problem."

"But Dumbledore would notice if we we're gone," Draco glanced over at the sleeping headmaster.

Herculen laughed again, and told his brother to stand up. After that Herculen swished his wand with a flick of his wrist. Two boys faded into view, sitting on a bench and diligently working on potions. Draco stared, amazed, at the two boys identical to him and his brother. Walking over, Draco tried to touch one, however his hand went right through as if the boy was made of smoke.

"See," Herculen grinned. "It's not as if it's hard to get around the rules. Besides, I put our sleeping draught in the headmaster's tea! Even if he does wake up soon, he'll see us working. It won't be a problem. Come on Draco!"

"Wait," Draco cried, "We can't just leave! What about, what about if Snape finds out we are gone! We'll get in so much trouble!"

"Pish posh, he won't know we're gone! Come on, don't be such a stickler, little brother. Do something daring for once in your life. Don't be such a coward."

"Well, well where do you plan to go again?" Draco asked uneasily.

"Oh I don't know, just around outside, maybe to the lake. Come on! Let's hurry so we have more time before he wakes up."

Herculen marched over to the door and glared at his brother to hurry up. Uneasily, Draco followed his brother, throwing a final look at the potions room before the brothers tried to open the door, only to find it locked.

"Funny, it wasn't locked before. The old coot must have locked it wordlessly! Come on, there's a secret tunnel over here."

Herculen hurried over to a table, and then he knelt down to push in a bit of wall, which made another bit of wall swing out. He urged Draco inside before shutting the door softly. The boys now stood in a much taller secret passageway lined with black, shining stone.

"Come," Herculen told his very uneasy little brother, and then hurried to the end of the tunnel, where he slowly pushed open a door.

Throwing a look both ways, Herculen hurried through the door, which was a painting on the otherside, and finally he and his brother arrived at the front door. Yanking it open, they slipped through and escaped from the virtually empty castle out into the warm summer air.

"We made it," Herculen declared. "Now, where should we go!"

"You said we'd go to the lake," Draco told his brother, who nodded slowly.

"Yes, I did say that, didn't I? Well, we could, I suppose, however there are other places."

"Like where?" Draco asked, confused. Following his brother's gaze, he realized that his brother had a very different location in his mind: The Forbidden Forest.

"What? No! We can't go in there, father said it was forbidden!"

"Oh father, he's a bit of a stickler too. Just too uptight if you ask me. Sometimes he just gets so bothersome. Come on, Draco, it'll be fun! We needn't stay for long, I just want to see what it looks like in there. None of the Slytherins ever go; spineless cowards, the lot of them. Of course, I'm not one for the kind of stupidity those brave gryffindors boast, but some people need to grow a backbone."

"What if we get lost?" Draco stammered.

"I'll leave a trail of magic to follow back. We can't get lost. Besides, the forest isn't school grounds. We can just apparate back to the edge. Come on, Draco."

Draco watched as his brother marched toward the forest, and with a sigh, Draco hurried to catch up with him.

'_It'll be fun_,' he told himself.

Stepping into the forest, Draco immediately noticed a difference in how far he could see. The forest was dark beyond belief, but Herculen's eyes seemed to light up.

"Spooky," he whispered. "Come on."

He lead his brother further into the forest, over logs and through bushes, and Draco was presently surprised when he heard a bird singing in one of the trees. Birds singing seemed to make the dark place a little less terrifying. Actually the farther they walked, the less terrifying it got. Nothing popped out at the brothers, and the birds continued to sing merrily. The further they went, the colder it got, and suddenly Draco noticed drifts of snow on the ground. Herculen said it was because this part of the forest never really warmed up. Soon the boys had entered a ghostly, snowy wonderland still icy despite the summer outside the forest.

They must have been walking and exploring for several hours when Draco finally brought spoke of the bird's singing to his brother.

"So," Draco asked after a while. "Why do they call it forbidden anyway? It doesn't seem so bad to me, actually. It's cold, but it's not as bad as I thought it'd be."

"No it isn't," Herculen agreed. "It's just because too many people listen to rumors and can't stand believing that just because something is dark doesn't doesn't mean it's totally evil. Of course, there are stories about the creatures that live in here."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, hurrying to catch up with his brother.

"Let's stop for a minute to eat, then I'll tell you," Herculen replied. The two blonde boys sat upon a rotting log and Herculen conjured two sandwiches, one of which he handed his brother.

"There's lots of stories about the Forbidden Forest. I've heard that by day, it's not terribly bad. However, by night it is crawling with vampires, werewolves, and other even more terrifying creatures, or so they say. Students used to disappear in here, usually at night. What makes it truly awful? Normally vampires are nightly creatures, but in this dark, they can travel in mid day, too. And creatures in here are bigger. There are spiders, Draco, as big as a bear. There are rats so big they could swallow you in a single gulp. Boo!"

Draco jumped into the air as his brother leaped forward, a loud shout coming from his lips. Draco tumbled off the log with a short cry, trembling wildly.

Herculean began to laugh. He helped his brother back onto the log as he cackled wildly.

"Oh Draco, you're too easy to scare. Come on, it's okay, little brother! I didn't mean to really scare you! Are you okay?"

Draco's bottom lip quivered, but he nodded.

"Why are we in here, again?" Draco trembled.

"Oh come on, those are just stories. I bet they tell them so kids don't get lost and then teachers have to trek around for hours to find them. We can't get lost, though. Come on, let's-"

Herculen stopped talking, suddenly when an unusual rustle from nearby was heard. Placing a finger upon his lips, he looked around quickly. Suddenly, the brothers heard a footstep crunch in some nearby dead leafs.

Jumping, Draco made to run off, but his brother held him firmly in place.

"Stay here," his brother commanded in a whisper. "Don't move a muscle. Running doesn't do any good. Don't move Draco, I'll be right back."

Standing silently, Herculen sneaked away into the forest. Moments later, he disappeared past a bush.

Nervously, Draco played with his hands, swallowing and glancing around the slight clearing he was seated in. Suddenly the air felt colder, and the darkness seemed to press in on Draco. A sound to Draco's left made his head spin, but nothing was there. Then he heard a footstep in back of him.

"Herculen?" Draco turned slowly, his voice shaking, and then he screamed.

Within seconds, the dark cloaked being that had moments ago been looming in back of the boy, had leaped upon Draco, tearing at his shirt with claw-like nails and snarling with long teeth that Draco recognised as fangs.

"Help!" Draco screamed, but he received a slap across the face from one of the clawed hands leaving long, red tracks. Slowly, blood began to dot the snow red.

"Get away from my brother!" Came a scream from across the clearing, and the fangs that had, a moment ago, been preparing to sink into his neck, were now snarling at Herculen whose pointed wand was trained on the vampire. Herculen's voice was dangerous. "Get away from him."

The dark being struck Draco on the head before leaping and running for the other boy. Draco moaned, and his eyelids fluttered softly closed.

* * *

><p>Draco may have only been unconscious for a minute when a strangled groan awoke him from his short reprieve.<p>

Struggling to sit up, Draco's eyes traveled to the left, and then he shook his head in horror.

The dark cloaked vampire was bent over his comatose brother, it's face buried in Herculen's neck.

"No, get away!" Draco cried, and for a moment, the vampire looked up, licking it's red lips slowly.

Draco gasped for breath and tried to stand, but his head throbbed, and he was back on the ground panting for breath within seconds. The vampire again busied itself with the elder boy.

Shaking, Draco scanned the clearing for anything that might help, and his eyes located a small rock within reach of his hand. Draco struggled to throw it at the vampire, and though it didn't reach it's mark, the vampire snarled and rushed at Draco.

Crying, Draco tried to scoot away backwards, but he was getting nowhere fast.

The vampire was mere inches from Draco's neck, and it slammed Draco's head into the ground once more, causing Draco to whimper loudly, when there was an enraged shout.

A green light lit the forest, and the vampire shot across the clearing, slumping against a nearby tree. It's vacant eyes fluttered before staring into space.

Draco again tried to stand, but his limbs gave out on him, and he collapsed into a sobbing heap. He looked up to see a dark cloaked man running toward him, and Draco sobbed harder, trying to push himself away. It was a few moments later when he realised the dark cloaked man was Snape.

"Draco," Snape's voice was breathless as he knelt beside his godchild, surveying the bleeding marks marring Draco's face. "Draco did it bite you?"

"No, but, but Herculen," Draco sobbed and the color further drained from Snape's face. Standing, Snape turned to look at the edge of the clearing.

"Don't move Draco, I'll be right back," Snape promised, but Draco grabbed at his robes desperately. "It's alright, I'll be right over here. I need to go see Herculen."

Snape gently disconnected himself from the child and ran to kneel beside Herculen's side. The sight he found made his stomach churn.

The vampire must have found the boys some time ago, for it was clear that it had been feeding on Herculen for a significant amount of time. He was paler than any child Snape had ever seen, and a red river ran from a gash on the boy's neck. His breath was swallow, but at least he was breathing, for the moment.

Quivering wand hovering over the boy, Snape's mind numbly worked over what he would do.

'Think,' Snape screamed at himself, 'He has but minutes, think!'

Conjuring a soft gauze, Snape wrapped it around the boy's neck and muttered a spell to make the bleeding stop. Hesitantly, Snape surveyed the body. A few moments later, a second person entered the clearing, glancing at Draco and his brother. In a moment, Dumbledore knelt beside the whimpering Draco.

"Will my brother be okay?" Draco asked Dumbledor immediately. Dumbledor's eyes grew dark as he surveyed Draco. The small blonde had a concussion and several other superficial wound that would need treated before they could get infected. Dumbledore then turned to look at Herculen, he face turned slightly so that Draco could no longer see the headmaster's expression.

"We can hope that he will pull through. We must not ignore the fact that, should he pull through, he may not be the same. It is," Dumbledor paused, "It is difficult to lose a sibling. We must hope with all our hearts that it is not yet time for Herculen to depart this world."

Turning back to Draco, the blonde was shocked to see a saddened look upon the old man's face. In the short time Draco had known the headmaster, he had not seen an expression even close to the deep sadness that lined the old man's face for but a moment before it was replaced by an expression far less readable.

"Please try to help my brother," Draco begged, but in return he only received a sigh.

"We will all do our very best," Draco was told, and then the elderly man waved his wand, Draco suddenly growing sleepy. Things suddenly became foggy, and Draco could only pick up parts of conversations.

"I'll stay-" that was Dumbledore.

"If anything happens, you'll-" that was Snape.

Draco then heard whispering, before Snape sounded angry.

"Remember-"

"-and you understand that his father-"

"-you must, Severus!"

"I'm sorry."

"He was a foolish child, and-"

"-too weak to apparate-"

"Bring her-"

"-and when she does-"

Suddenly Draco felt arms underneath him, and his eyes fluttered open to see his godfather. Snape grunted as he lifted Draco into the air, and then took off running through the forest. After what seemed an eternity, they arrived at the castle, and Snape hurried inside. He ran toward the infirmary where he lay Draco on his side upon a crisp white bed.

"I must depart, but a nice lady will look after you," Snape promised, and then he disappeared.

A thin older woman approached to tell him that a healer would be going to see his brother, and that she would be looking after him until the healer came back. She fussed over his back, which had become raw and bloody due to being slammed upon the ground, and then she turned to lay him upon his back, which made him wince.

"My brother," Draco gasped out. "A vampire got my brother! He, he-" Draco dissolved into a fit of tears, and the woman's expression softened.

"Here," the woman handed Draco a little round candy. After a moment, he took the candy, chewing it slowly. A few moments later, Draco's eyes fluttered, and then they drifted shut.

* * *

><p><strong>AU: <strong>_Please review and tell me what you think! Your reviews are so nice and inspire me to continue. _

_Also, my friend **FanofRandomThings **is writing a story called One way leads to diamonds: the tale of Thrandius. It's about Thranduil, however it's a crossover with Harry Potter, and will eventually be about Lucius. If you have any interest in Thranduil, Lucius, the Hobbit, or Harry Potter, I recommend you check that out. :)_

Also, my friend made an awesome Harry Potter thing on Youtube where she matched characters with songs, and I think the songs are pretty accurate. It'd be cool if you could check that out. Here's the link (first type in youtube in the url bar then the link, you can't put full links on ff):

watch?v=6MjH9PBDrgo.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: **_So this chapter is not very exciting, but it was necessary to write. Warning, it's fairly sad and about how Draco feels about what just happened. Like I said, not many actual events happen in this chapter, but it was necessary so you know how Draco is feeling. Things should pick up again next chapter._

_Thank you to _**E.****Backer****, Guest, **and **standasawitness **for reviewing.

* * *

><p>Draco floated in and out of consciousness several times before soft voices coaxed his eyes open. At first he was completely disoriented, and then he realized he was laying in a crisp, white bed in a row of crisp, white beds. He turned to see his godfather sitting on the bed next to Draco's, the headmaster standing at the end of that same bed.<p>

"Draco, how is your head feeling?" Snape's voice was very soft, which puzzled Draco.

"It hurts a little," he told his godfather. "Where am I?"

Snape glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded encouragingly. Snape spoke again.

"You're at Hogwarts, remember? You came to stay here for several days. Do you not remember that?"

Slowly, memories began trickling back to Draco, who shut his eyes in the effort to remember. Suddenly, a forest swam into his mind, and then a feeling of deep unease clenched his heart.

"Professor Snape," Draco addressed the man as Herculen had always told him to. "Where's my brother?"

Snape's face showed nothing, however he swallowed slowly in his silence.

"Your brother," Dumbledore stepped forward. "Is currently unavailable. I'm so sorry, Draco, but you'll have to stay here. You need rest, Draco. We'll discuss him later. For now, eat this candy. I heard it's your favorite flavor."

Draco felt the tiniest bit better after the headmaster attempted to comfort him, however a strange memory of his brother in the forest kept haunting him.

"Please let me see my brother! Why is he unavailable? Isn't he here, still? Did mother and father already arrive?"

Draco almost stood from the bed, however Snape reached out quickly and helped him lay down again.

"You mother and father have returned from their trip, yes; however they are not yet prepared to bring you home. I believe your mother will be bringing you home tomorrow morning, perhaps. Or I might bring you home myself," Snape told Draco calmly.

"What about Herculen? Is he at home with them already?"

Snape's eyes flicked to Dumbledore, his face uncharacteristically uneasy.

"He is not here, nor is he there," Dumbledore told Draco.

"Where is he then?" Draco begged, his eyes flying between the two men. "Where is he if he's not at Hogwarts or at home?"

"We'll discuss this later," Snape stood up. "Stay right here, Draco, don't move. I'll be right back."

Draco suddenly gasped, horrible awful memories assaulting him. He squeezed his eyes shut as suddenly he remembered the forest, and his brother, and the vampire.

Draco's eyes flew open suddenly with a cry, and his gaze flew to Snape, tears in his eyes.

"Snape, Profess... Professor S.. Snape, my brother, the vampire! He.. Where is he? Is he okay? Where is my brother? What happened? Uncle Snape please tell me!"

Snape froze, swallowing around a lump in his throat. He turned to stare at Draco as the boy again whimpered.

"Uncle Snape, what happened? Why can't I see my brother? Please tell me what happened!"

Tears were now hanging on the ends of Draco's lashes, and Snape came back, hesitantly sitting on the edge of Draco's bed.

"Draco, stop, you'll make yourself unwell," Snape began to speak, but then he trailed off as a sob almost poured out of his godson.

"Where is he?" Draco fairly shouted.

"He's... He's... He's missing," Snape finally spat out as if the words were poison. "He's missing."

"Missing?" Draco cried.

"Yes," Snape's nod was shallow and uneasy. "He's missing and... Well they can't know for sure, but he might be gone."

"Gone?" Draco cried.

"Forever," Snape continued, his face paling when Draco almost looked sick to his stomach at the news. "They can't know for sure, Draco. He's just missing!"

Draco shook his head, tears pooling in his eyes, yet some stalwart part of him had been trained not to let them fall, especially in front of family; not that Snape was family. Draco knew Snape wasn't family, father had said so, and yet Draco tried to keep his face dry. It was a losing battle.

"It's alright," Snape choked out. "To... To be sad and to...Your father isn't here."

Draco couldn't hold back any longer. Suddenly Snape found that his robes were growing damp, and he awkwardly patted Draco's back, unsure what to do.

"It's... It'll be... I'm here, Draco," Snape spoke haltingly.

Part of Snape wanted to leave right then, he didn't know what to do or how to help, and yet he sat there fairly silently. From his shoulder, where Draco had his head buried, Snape heard the word Herculen. For several moments, Snape had an urge to get away from the sobbing child, but then he heard something he hadn't heard since Draco was very small.

"I'm scared, Uncle Severus," Draco whimpered, and Snape swallowed again.

"Don't be, you're the Malfoy dragon, remember," Snape choked out. "You can be brave. You can be alright."

Snape noticed that he and his godchild were alone, and Draco had his head hidden as Snape's robes slowly became soggy, and so the man allowed a single tear to drift from his eye just as he told Draco yet again that he was there; he wouldn't leave.

* * *

><p>"How is the boy?" Dumbledore glanced up when Snape entered the headmaster's room.<p>

"He's not taking this well at all. This is wrong, what he's making me do!"

"He's the boy's father; he must have the final word on the matter, Severus."

"But it's still wrong! Draco has experienced something very traumatic, and at this rate this will make him crumble. He's only eleven years old!"

"You cannot go back on his father's decision."

Snape nodded in agreement, silent for a moment, before his face became contemplative.

"Perhaps I can help him to dull some of the pain, if he's still this way by the time school is going into session next year."

"Severus, that spell can be dangerous, you know that. It numbs the pain, but it numbs something else as well."

"Good, I'm sure that's what his father would want," Snape's voice was like acid.

"Wait until next year, it would be better to not use that spell, you know that."

Snape hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly.

"I think his parents will be waiting for me. I suppose I'd best go."

"A strong front, Severus. This is no different than when you were aiding me. A strong front is what they will expect of you."

"Of course," Snape's voice was now as drawling and silky as it generally was, but Dumbledore could see behind his stalwart expression that his mask wasn't quite up to par.

Dumbledore then watched as Snape used the headmaster's private floo. For a moment Dumbledore considered checking on the boy, but he reconsidered because perhaps the blonde would prefer some time alone, considering his roots. Instead, Dumbledore sat at his desk, debating how to handle the new situation should Herculen remain missing.

* * *

><p>Draco had fallen asleep, however his eyes fluttered open when he heard a noise beside his bed. He glanced up to see Snape standing there, and Draco shook his head in hopes of clearing it, but instead it just made him wince.<p>

"I'm to bring you home," Snape told Draco. "We're leaving now."

Snape helped Draco stand and he lead him through the castle. For some time Draco was silent, but finally he asked in a quiet voice where they were going.

"We're going to a currently operating floo."

Snape lead Draco toward an odd staircase which twisted up into a large room. Draco saw little of the room, however, because he was quickly ussured over to the floo.

"Go home, I'll be right behind you," Snape promised.

Draco took some floo powder and softly said his manor's name. When he arrived, he stepped out of the floo and was enveloped in his mother's arms.

"Draco," her voice was soft as she clutched her son. After a moment she stood from her crouched position, however she placed a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes as she asked how he was. In return she only got a shrug.

"Oh Draco," her voice was soft again and once again she pulled her son into a hug. "It'll be alright, Draco. It'll be alright."

"Where's father?" Draco asked, glancing around the room.

"He's not here at the moment," Narcissa looked away uneasily. "He may be home soon."

Snape stepped out of the floo a few moments later and greeted Narcissa gently. She nodded at him.

"Thank you," she told him. "Thank you for, well…"

Snape nodded silently.

"Draco," Narcissa turned back to her son. "I'm so glad you're alright. Are you hungry? Would you like to eat?"

"Not really," Draco swallowed. "May I go to my room?"

"Draco, I think you should eat something. Dobby could bring something to your room?"

"Okay," Draco shrugged. Then, without another word, he retreated upstairs.

"How do I handle this, Severus?" Draco heard his mother asking his godfather before Draco ran into his room and shut his door quickly. For a moment Draco simply stood there. Then his eye was drawn to his wizard's chess set which he'd left carelessly sitting at the end of his bed. For a moment his lip trembled, then he slid down his door, sitting with his head resting on his knees, tears dripping down his cheeks.

He sat like that for a very long time, only interrupted once when Dobby popped into his room to deliver food. Finally he heard footsteps in the hall outside his door. Then he heard his father's voice.

"He's probably asleep by now anyway," his father was saying, however Draco stood quickly. Maybe his father could make him feel better!

After quickly wiping his cheeks and eyes, and smoothing his rumpled clothing and hair, Draco pulled his door open.

"Hello father," Draco blinked up at his father who was standing just across the hall.

Lucius observed Draco for a moment, something akin to disgust on his face, before he turned and marched down the hall toward his study. Draco stared after him with mounting grief, however Narcissa hurried over to her son and told him to go to sleep.

"Why did father…"

"He's upset right now, Draco. Have you eaten your dinner? No? Well it's probably cold by now; where is it?" Narcissa stepped over to the food and cast a warming spell. "Now, please eat it Draco. Uncle Snape told me you hadn't eaten in a while at Hogwarts. You need food, my little dragon."

Draco glanced at the food, and though he supposed that his stomach was rumbling a bit, he just didn't feel like eating. In fact, the very thought made his stomach roll.

"Just eat the bread? It's your favorite, parmesan french bread!"

Draco nibbled at the bread, and Narcissa smiled at her son.

"I'd better go see to your father; will you be alright here, eating?"

Draco shrugged, which made Narcissa hesitate before she hurried out of the room and toward Lucius's study.

"Dobby," Draco called the house elf, and a few moments later Dobby appeared. "You hungry? You can eat my food."

"Dobby mustn't eat Master Draco's food!" Dobby shook his head, his ears flapping about, however Draco set his look into a pleading expression.

"Please Dobby?" Draco begged. "Eat the food!"

Dobby hesitated before he began chewing on a chicken leg.

"Is Master Draco alright?" Dobby asked, and in return the house elf got a firm shake of Draco's head.

"Herculen is missing!" Draco wailed. "How could I be alright? He's probably gone, forever!"

Dobby nodded sadly, his eyes down fallen, however after a moment the house elf steeled his expression and looked Draco in the eye.

"Dobby doesn't know very much about what happened to Master Herculen, but Dobby does know that Master Herculen wouldn't want Master Draco to be sad all the time. Master Herculen would want his brother to take care of himself and be getting ready for his first year at Hogwarts. Dobby will help Master Draco no matter what, that's what Dobby is here for."

Draco glanced at Dobby hopefully, and then the smallest of smiles lit up Draco's face.

"Thank you Dobby," Draco murmured. "Maybe I'll eat tomorrow."

Dobby hesitantly finished the food, and then he recommended Master Draco go to bed.

Draco obliged, slipping between his sheets with a sigh. His eyes suddenly fell on a moving photograph with him and his brother which sat beside his bed, and he had to close his eyes tightly to keep moisture from soaking his pillow.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Please_ review! What do you think Snape and Dumbledore were talking about? How do you think Naricssa and Lucius are taking this? Tell me what you think of the chapter!_


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